UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


UMVERSn  Y  ol  CALIIOKNI4 

AT 
LOS  ANGELES      ^ 
LDBRARY 


616«     5 


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The 

Connecticut  River 

and  the 

Valley  of  the  Connecticut 

Three  Hundred  and  Fifty  Miles  from 
Mountain   to  Sea 

Historical  and  Descriptive 
By 

Edwin  M.  Bacon 

Author  of  "  Walks  and  Rides  in  the  Country  round  about  Boston,"  "  Historic 

Pilgrimages  in  New  England,"  "Literary  Pilgrimages 

in  New  England,"  etc. 


Illustrated 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York    and   London 

XTbe  1knicherbocl?er  press 

1911 


Copyright,  1906 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

Published,  August,  1906 
Reprinted,  January,  1907 ;  April,  ign 


Ube  ftniclietbocltec  preee,  t^ew  X^rk 


2S 


n  i 


I    DEDICATE    THIS    BOOK    TO 

Lindsay  Swift 

OF  THE  BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY,  MASTER  OF  AMERICANA, 

WHOM    IT    HAS    BEEN    MY    RARE    FORTUNE    TO    KNOW 

AS    HISTORICAL    GUIDE    AND    AS    FRIEND. 


iu 


I 

HISTORICAL 


Prefatory   Note 


THE  story  of  the  Connecticut  River  and  the  Valley  of 
the  Connecticut  is  so  mingled  with  the  history  of  the 
country,  and  particularly  of  the  formative  periods,  that  in 
the  proper  telling  of  it  much  of  history  must  also  be  related. 
Accordingly  in  the  following  pages  there  will  be  found 
blended  with  descriptions  of  the  longest  river  in  New  Eng- 
land and  one  of  the  fairest  valleys  in  the  country,  narra- 
tions of  Indian  and  colonial  wars ;  of  the  establishment  or 
evolution  of  democratic  government ;  of  the  pioneer  devel- 
opment of  internal  improvements  and  of  industries  ;  of  the 
planting  and  upbuilding  of  many  and  varied  institutions  of 
learning,  colleges,  academies,  and  schools,  for  higher  edu- 
cation—  more  than  on  any  other  river  in  the  world  — 
and  withal  of  the  growth  and  unfolding  of  the  genuine 
American  character.  In  the  study  of  my  subject,  besides 
consulting  the  various  histories,  colonial,  state,  county,  and 
town,  bearing  upon  it,  historical  monographs,  family  papers, 
diaries,  and  contemporary  narrative,  I  have  gone,  so  far 
as  they  were  accessible,  to  original  authorities.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  research  new  readings  of  popular  history  have 


vi  Prefatory  Note 

been  made  necessary  in  several  instances,  and  some  cher- 
ished old  legends  which  have  become  fixed  in  literature  as 
historical  facts,  have  perforce  been  relegated  to  their  right- 
ful places.  It  is  none  the  less,  however,  a  story  full  to 
its  last  chapter  of  interest  and  inspiration,  with  much  of 
romance,  of  stirring  incident,  of  thrilling  adventure,  of 
the  exhibition  of  heroism,  devotion,  faith,  energy,  broad 
enterprise,  large-mindedness,  and  the  true  American  spirit. 

E.  M.  B. 

Boston,  Mass. 


Contents 


I.    HISTORICAL 

PAOB 

I.   Dutch  Discovkbt  and  First  Occupation    ...         1 

Adriaen  Block  on  the  River  in  1614  —  First  of  European  Navigators  to 
Enter  and  Explore  it  —  His  Sixty-mile  Cruise  up  the  Stream  in 
an  American  Built  Yacht  —  Story  of  Block  and  his  Voyage  along 
the  New  England  Coast  —  Action  by  the  States  General  on  his  Dis- 
coveries—  The  "Figurative  Map" — A  Remarkable  Coincidence 
—  The  Dutch  alone  Established  on  the  River  for  nearly  Eighteen 
Years  —  The  first  Rapier  Thrust  between  the  Dutch  and  the  Eng- 
lish. 


II.   English  Occupation      .......       14 

First  Move  by  the  Plymouth  Men  in  1633  —  Banished  River  Sachems 
in  Plymouth  and  Boston  —  Edward  Winslow's  Preliminary  Explo- 
ration —  Disingenuousness  of  the  Bay  Colony  Leaders  —  Their  Pros- 
pecting Parties  in  the  River  Region  —  Exchange  of  Letters  as 
to  Dutch  and  English  Rights  —  Affairs  Shaping  for  a  Pretty  Quar- 
rel—The Dutch  "House  of  Hope"— The  "Lords  and  Gentle- 
men's "  Patent  —  Entry  of  the  Pilgrims  —  Ignoring  the  Dutchmen's 
Challenge  —  Van  Twiller's  formidable  Protest. 


III.    The  Pioneer  River  Settlements      .         .         .         .       24 

Puritans  from  the  Bay  Colony  Entering  in  1635  —  Beginnings  of 
Wethersfield  and  Windsor — Intrusion  on  the  Plymouth  Meadows  — 
Governor  Bradford's  Ineffectual  Protest — The  Dream  of  a  "New 
Plymouth"  Dispelled  —  John  Winthrop,  the  Younger,  Governor  for 
the  "  Lords  and  Gentlemen"  — Lodgment  at  the  River's  Mouth  — 
Coming  of  Hooker  and  his  Congregation  in  1636  —  The  Old  Connec- 
ticut Path,  The  Second  Connecticut  Trail,  and  the  Bay  Path  as 
traced  to-day  —  Beginnings  of  Hartford  and  Springfield  —  Secession 
of  River  Towns. 


viii  Contents 

PAGE 

IV.  A  SiGxiFicANT  Chapter  of  Colonial  History  38 

The  Political  Motive  that  Inspired  the  Dispersion  from  the  Bay  Colony 
to  the  Valley  —  Democracy  versus  Theocracy — Thomas  Hooker  and 
John  Cotton,  Spokesman  for  the  Differing  Parties  — The  Hookerites' 
Petition  in  the  Bay  General  Court —  Winthrop's  Report  of  the  Un- 
recorded Proceedings  —  Alleged  and  Real  Reasons  for  Removal  — 
Provisional  Grovemment  for  the  Valley  Plantations  —  The  Independ- 
ent Establishment  —  Hooker's  epoch-making  Sermon  —  The  firat 
Written  Constitution  —  -True  Birth  of  American  Democracy"  — 
Hooker's  Illuminating  Letter  :  a  Colonial  Classic. 

V.  The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Hope       ....       56 

Troubled  Life  of  the  Dutch  among  their  English  Neighbors  —  Petty 
Aggressions  on  Both  Sides  —  De  Vries's  Observations  in  1639  — 
His  Dinner-table  Talk  with  Governor  Haynes  —  A  Pleasant  Episode 
of  his  Visit — Commander  Provoost's  Strenuous  Five  years  —  A 
Dramatic  Scene  at  the  Fort  —  Diplomatic  Gysbert  op  Dyck  —  Peter 
Stuyvesant  at  Hartford  —  The  Hartford  Treaty  of  1660  —  A  brief 
"Happy  Peace"  —  Captain  John  Underbill  upon  the  Scene — He 
seizes  the  House  of  Hope  — End  of  Dutch  Occupation. 

VI.  Saybrook  Fort 67 

The  Saybrook  Plantation  for  Important  Colonists  who  never  came 

—  The  Questioned  Story  of  the  Embarkation  of  Cromwell  and 
Hampden  —  Beginnings  by  George  Fenwick  —  Lion  Gardiner's  grim 
Humor  —  John  Winthrop  the  Younger :  A  Remarkable  Personage 

—  Fenwick's  Home  on  Saybrook  Point — Lady  Fenwick  —  John 
Higginson,  the  Chaplain  —  Lady  Fenwick's  lonely  Tomb  —  The  sec- 
ond Saybrook  Fort,  Scene  of  an  Adventure  of  Andros  in  1676  — 
Beginnings  of  Yale  College  at  Saybrook  —  The  "  Saybrook  Plat- 
form"—  First  Book  Printed  in  Connecticut. 

VII.  Early  Perils  of  Colonial  Life       ....       80 

The  River  Settlements  of  the  Colonial  Period  —  Confined  to  the  Lower 
Valley  for  a  Century  — The  First  Settlers  completely  environed  by 
Savages  —  The  Various  Tribes  and  their  Seats  —  The  Dominating 
Pequots  —  Covert  Attacks  upon  the  Settlers  —  Massacre  of  Captains 
Stone  and  Norton  with  their  Ship's  Crew — The  Killing  of  John  Old- 
ham off  Block  Island  —  Avenged  by  Captain  John  Gallop  —  The 
"  Earliest  Sea-Fight  of  the  Nation  "  —  A  Graphic  Colonial  Sea-Story. 

VIII.  The  Pequot  Wars 91 

First  Expedition  from  the  Bay  Colony  under  Endicott  —  Lion  Gardi- 
ner's Practical   Advice  —  Plot    to  Destroy  the  River  Settlements 


Contents  ix 

PAGE 

—  Tragedies  on  the  River  —  The  Connecticut  Colony's  Campaign  — 
The  "Army"  drawn  from  the  Three  River  Towns  —  Major  John 
Mason,  the  Myles  Standish  of  the  Colony  —  Hooker's  Godspeed  at 
the  Embarkation  —  Scene  on  the  down-river  Voyage  —  Debate  of  the 
Captains  at  Saybrook  Fort  —  Mason's  Master-Stroke  —  The  March 
in  the  Enemy's  Country  —  Burning  of  Mystic  Fort  —  End  of  the 
Pequots. 

IX.  Philip's  "War  in  the  Valley 113 

The   Direful  Conflict  of   1675-1676  Centering  in  the   Massachusetts 

Reach  —  Philip  of  the  Wampanoags  —  The  frontier  River  Towns  — 
Hadley  the  MiUtary  Headquarters  —  Gathering  of  the  Colonial 
forces  —  The  "Regicide"  Goffe  perhaps  a  Secret  Observer  of  the 
Spectacle—  The  apocryphal  Tale  of  the  "  Angel  of  Deliverance  "  — 
First  Assault  upon  Deerfield  —  Northfield  Destiroyed  —  Fatal  March 
of  Captain  Beers  toward  Northfield —  The  Ambuscade  on  "  Beers's 
Plain"  —  Ghastly  Sight  meeting  the  Gaze  of  a  Relief  Force  —  A 
Sunday  Attack  upon  Deerfield. 

X.  The  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook  .....  126 

Slaughter  of  the  "  Flower  of  Essex  "  at  South  Deerfield  while  Convoy- 
ing a  Provision  Train  —  The  Sudden  Attack  from  Ambush  by 
a  Swarm  of  Braves — Many  of  Captain  Lothrop's  Men  idly  gath- 
ering Grapes  by  the  Brookside  when  the  Warwhoop  rang  out  — 
Desperate  After-fight  by  Captain  Moseley  —  Memorials  of  the  Battle 

—  The  Legend  of  "King  Philip's  Chair" — Destruction  of  Deer- 
field. 

XI.  The  Burning  of  Springfield 132 

With  Pledges  of  Fidelity  the  Agawam  Indians  concoct  a  '*  Horrible 
Plot  "  —  Bands  of  Philip's  Warriors  secretly  admitted  to  the  Indian 
Fort  on  the  Outskirts  of  the  Town  —  A  Night  Alarm —  Early  Morn- 
ing Attack  upon  Messengers  riding  out  to  Reconnoitre  —  The  full 
Pack  soon  upon  the  Village  —  The  People  crowding  the  Garrison 
House  —  A  wild  Scene  of  Havoc.with  the  Town  in  Flames  —  Major 
Pynchon's  Forced  March  from  Hadley  to  its  Relief  —  Grave  After- 
events. 

XII.  The  Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  ,         .         .     142 

Canonchet  drawn  into  Philip's  War  —  Flight  of  his  Tribe  toward  the 
Valley  —  Ravages  of  Frontier  Towns  on  the  Way  —  The  great 
Indian  Rendezvous  about  Northfield — Attacks  upon  Northampton, 
Hatfield,  and  Longmeadow — Death  of  Canonchet :  A  Hero  of  his 
Race  —  The  Great  Falls  Fight :  An  English  Victory  followed  by  a 
Disastrous  Rout  — A  Chaplain's  Experience  —  Final  Attacks  upon 
Hatfield  and  Hadley  — End  of  Philip's  War  — Death  of  Phillip 
deserted  and  betrayed  —  Results  of  the  War  to  the  Colonists. 


X  Contents 

PAGB 

XIII    The  Sack  of  Dkerfield 164 

The  Settlement,  again  the  Outpost,  repeatedly  raided  in  the  early 
French  and  Indian  "Wars  —  The  first  Captives  marched  to  Canada 
from  Deerfield  and  Hatfield —  Knightly  Quest  of  two  Hatfield  Men 
— Bootless  raid  of  Baron  de  Saint-Castin  —  Motive  of  de  Vaudreuil's 
Expedition  resulting  in  the  Sack  —  Deerfield  as  it  appeared  before 
the  Onset  —  Completeness  of  the  Surprise  by  De  Rouville's  Army  — 
The  Palisades  scaled  over  Snowdrifts  —  Scene  at  the  Parsonage  — 
Siege  of  the  Benoni  Stebbins  House  —  Start  of  one  hundred  and 
twelve  Captives  for  Canada. 

XIV.  The  "  Redeemed  Captive's  "  Story         .         .         .     180 

Journey  of  the  Deerfield  Band  as  described  by  Parson  Williams  —  His 
last  Walk  with  his  Wife  —  Their  tender  Parting  —  The  Gentle 
Lady  soon  Slain  —  Her  Grave  in  the  Old  Deerfield  Burying-ground 

—  Other  Captives  Killed  on  the  Hard  March  —  The  Minister's  Faith 
in  the  Practical  Value  of  Prayer  —  The  first  Sunday  out :  Service  of 
Sermon  and  Song —  Canadian  Experiences  —  The  Minister's  Wrest- 
lings with  the  " Papists"  — Fate  of  his  Children  —  A  Daughter  be- 
comes a  Chief's  Wife — The  "Lost  Dauphin  of  France." 

XV.  Upper  River  Settlement  .....     198 

Northfield  the  Outpost  in  1714  —  Fort  Dummer  at  the  present  Brattle- 
borough  the  Pioneer  Upper  Valley  Town  —  The  "Equivalent 
Lands"  —  "  Number  4  "  at  the  present  Charlestown — Father  Rale's 
War  —  Gray  Lock  —  Scouting-parties  of  River  Men  —  Chronicles  of 
their  bold  Adventures  up  the  Valley —  Schemes  for  new  Townships — 
The  "  Indian  Road  "  —  Six  Up-river  Town  Grants  —  The  Massachu- 
setts-New Hampshire  Boundary  Dispute  —  The  Old  French  War 

—  Abandonment  of  the  new  Plantations — Heroic  Defence  of 
"  Number  4  "  — Story  of  a  Remarkable  Siege. 

XVI.  The  "New  Hampshire  Grants"      .         .         .         .220 

Governor  Benning  Wentworth's  great  Scheme  of  Colonization  —  Col- 
lision with  New  York  over  his  Grants  for  Townships  on  the  present 
Vermont  Side  of  the  River —  Captain  Symes's  Plan  for  laying  out 
the  Coos  Country  killed  by  Indian  Threats  —  A  great  Powwow  at 
"Number  4"  —  Captain  Powers's  Exploring  Expedition  —  Inter- 
ruption of  Wentworth's  Scheme  by  the  Outbreak  of  the  last  French 
and  Indian  War  —  Settlers  again  fall  back  on  the  Fortified  Places 

—  The  River  Frontiers  now  Established. 

XVII.  The  Last  French  War  in  the  Valley       .         .     227 

"  Number  4  "  and  the  Charlestown  Settlement  constantly  Imperilled  — 
Capture  of  the  Johnson  Family  the  Morning  after  a  Neighborhood 


Contents  xi 

PAOK 

Party  —  Mrs.  Johnson's  graphic  "  Narrative  "  of  their  March  to 
Canada  and  After  Experiences — On  the  Second  Day  out  she  gives 
Birth  to  a  Daughter  —  Fortunes  of  the  Willard  Family  — The  John- 
sons after  their  Return  from  Captivity:  a  Remarkable  Record  — 
Attacks  on  the  Lovrer  Frontiers  —  The  gallant  "  Kilburn  Fight  "  at 
Walpole  —  Cutting  out  the  "Crown  Point  Road"  from  "Num- 
ber 4  "  — Exploits  of  Robert  Rogers's  Rangers. 

XVIII.  The  War  of  the  Grants 252 

Land-Fever  following  the  Conquest  of  Canada  —  Prospecting  in  the  rich 
Upper  Valley  —  Winter  Surveys  for  Tiers  of  Towns  on  both  Sides  of 
the  River —  Great  Activity  of  Wentworth's  Grants-Mill  —  Whole- 
sale Issue  of  Charters — Form  of  these  Instruments  —  The  Gauntlet 
again  Thrown  Down  to  New  York  —  Sharp  Tilts  between  the  Gov- 
ernors —  The  King's  Order  declaring  the  River  the  Boundary  Line 
—  Conflicts  with  New  York  Officers  and  Courts  over  West  Side 
Titles  —  Rise  of  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys." 

XIX.  Dartmouth  College  and  "  New  Connecticut  "    .     258 
Rival  Schemes  of  State-Making  —  College  Party  versus  Bennington 

Party  —  Germ  of  the  College  Party  :  Wheelock's  Fixture  of  Dart- 
mouth in  the  Upper  Valley  —  Character  of  the  Pioneer  Settlements 
here  —  The  College  District  the  Political  Centre  —  "  Dresden  "  and 
College  Hall  —  Secession  of  East  Side  Towns  —  Notable  State 
Papers  by  the  Dresden  Statesmen  —  Erection  of  the  State  of  New 
Connecticut  at  Westminster  —  Substitution  of  Vermont  for  New 
Connecticut  —  The  Constitutional  Convention  at  Windsor  —  Ver- 
mont Launched  "amidst  the  Tumults  of  War"  —  Short-Lived 
Union  with  East-Side  Towns. 

XX.  The  Play  for  a  State 280 

The  College  Party's  Strategic  Moves  —  New  Hampshire  extending  Ju- 
risdiction over  Vermont's  Territory  —  Clashes  in  West  Side  River 
Towns  between  Vermont  Officers  and  "Yorkers"  —  Ethan  Allen 
and  his  "  Green  Mountain  Boys  "  on  the  Scene  —  A  Trial  in  West- 
minster Court-House  —  Congress  and  the  Contesting  Interests  — 
New  Combinations  in  the  Valley  —  Ira  Allen's  clever  Capture  of  a 
Convention  —  East-side  Towns  again  united  with  Vermont  —  Dis- 
turbances in  River  border  Towns  —  Final  Move  of  the  Bennington- 
ians —  Passing  of  the  College  Party. 


xii  Contents 


11.  ROMANCES  OF  NAVIGATION 

PAGE 

XXI.  An  Early  Colonial  Highway  ....     303 

The  River  an  important  Thoroughfare  through  Colony  Times  —  The 
first  White  Man's  Craft  on  its  Waters  —  Dutch  and  English  Trad- 
ing Ships — William  Pynchon  the  first  River  Merchant  —  Pros- 
perous TraflSc  in  Furs,  Skins,  and  Hemp  —  The  earliest  Flatboats 
operating  between  the  Falls  —  Seventeenth  Century  Shipbuilding 

—  River-built  Ships  sent  out  on  long  Foreign  Voyages  —  The  Rig 
of  the  Flatboat  as  developed  by  Colonial  Builders  —  System  of 
Up-River  Transportation  in  the  latter  Colonial  Period  —  Lumber 
Rafts  —  Early  Ferries. 

XXII.  Locks  and  Canals 310 

The  first  River  in  the  Country  to  be  Improved  by  Canals  —  The  Initial 

Charter  issued  by  Vermont  in  1791  —  F'.rst  Work  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Reach  —  Locking  of  South  Hadley  Falls  in  1795  —  A  Remark- 
able Achievement  for  that  Day  —  Unique  Features  of  the  Construc- 
tion —  The  System  as  Developed  Northward  —  Wells  River  Village 
Head  of  Navigation  —  River  Life  then  Animated  and  Bustling  — 
Improved  Types  of  Freight-Boats — Schemes  for  Extending  the 
System  with  great  Rival  Projects  —  Final  crushing  Competition 
of  the  Railroads. 

XXIII.  Steamboats  and  Steamboating     ....     326 

Connecticut  Valley  Inventors  of  the  Steamboat  —  Claims  of  John 
Fitch  and  Samuel  Morey  to  Priority  over  Fulton  —  Morey's  tiny 
Steamer  on  the  River  —  First  Steamboats  in  Regular  Service  — 
Gallant  Efforts  for  Steamboat  Navigation  to  the  Upper  Valley  — 
Triiunphant  Progress  of  the  Pioneer  "  Bamet"  up  to  Bellows  Falls 

—  The  "Ledyard's"  Achievement  in  Reaching  Wells  River  —  A 
Song  of  Triumph  by  a  Local  Bard  —  The  last  Fated  Up-River  Enter- 
prise —  Steamboating  on  the  Lower  Reaches  —  Dickens's  Voyage 
in  the  "  Massachusetts  " —  End  of  Passenger  Service  above  Hartford. 


III.   TOPOGRAPHY   OF   RIVER   AND   VALLEY 

XXIV.    "The  Beautiful  River" 345 

Winding  down  its  Luxurious  Valley  360  Miles  to  the  Sea — Almost  a 
Continuous  Succession  of  Delightful  Scenery — The  River's  Highland 
Foimtains — The  four  Upper  Connecticut  Lakes  —  Topography  of 
the  Valley  —  The  bounding  Summits — The  River's  Tributaries  — 
Historic  Streams  entering  from  Each  Side — The  Terrace  System  — 


\ 


Contents  xiii 

PAGE 


Charming  Intervals  with  deep-spreading  Meadows  —  The  Panorama 
in  Detail  from  the  Headwaters  to  Long  Island  Sound  —  Fossil  Foot- 
prints of  the  Lower  Valley. 

XXV.  Along  the  Upper  Valley       .....     367 
The  Romantic  Region  about  the  Connecticut  Lakes — Pioneer  Upper 

Settlements  —  Story  of  a  Forest  State  of  the  Eighteen-Twenties  and 
Thirties  — At  the  Valley's  Head  —  Upper  Coos  Towns — Old  Trail 
from  Canada  to   Maine — The  Country  of  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls 

—  Lower  Coos  Towns  —  About  the  Great  and  Little  Ox-Bows  — 
Dartmouth  College  and  its  Surroundings  —  Between  White  River 
Junction  and  "Old  Number  4"  —  Historic  Towns  of  the  Lower 
Reaches  to  the  Massachusetts  Line. 

XXVI.  The  Massachusetts  Reach 392 

Northfield's  attractive  Seat  at  (its  Head  —  The  Dwight  L.  Moody 
Institutions  —  Landmarks  of  the  Indian  Wars  —  Clarke's  Island 
and  its  Spectre  Pirate  —  Rural  Hill  Towns  below  Northfield  — 
Beautiful  Greenfield  —  Turner's  Falls  —  Historic  Deerfield  —  Rare 
Deerfield  Old  Str^Sl  and  its  Landmarks  —  Picturesque  Sunderland 
and  Whately  —  Old  Hatfield  and  Hadley  —  The  Russell  Parsonage 
and  the  "Regicides"  —  "Elm  Valley":  a  fine  Type  of  the  Colo- 
nial Farm-seat. 

XXVII.  Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  .         .     406 

Northampton,  the  "Meadow  City"  —  Its  Crop  of  Exceptional  Men 

—  The  Dwights  and  the  Whitneys  —  Sites  of  Jonathan  Edwards's 
Home  and  Pulpit  —  Scenes  of  the  Ely  Insurrection  and  of  Shays's 
Rebellion  —  Smith  College  —  An  Educational  Centre  —  Movmts 
Tom  and  Holyoke  —  Holyoke,  the  "  Paper  City  "  — Its  great  Hy- 
draulic Works —  Chicopee  and  its  Notable  Manufactures — Spring- 
field, the  "  Queen  City  "  —  Beauty  of  its  Setting —  Its  choice  Insti- 
tutions —  The  United  States  Arsenal  —  Scene  of  the  Overthrow  of 
Shays's  Rebellion. 

XXVIII.  The  Lower  Valley 430 

Enfield  and  Suffield  at  the  Connecticut  State  Line  —  Windsor  Locks 
and  Warehouse  Point  —  Site  of  Pynchon's  Warehouse  of  1636  — 
Ancient  Windsor  to-day  and  its  Landmarks  —  Charms  of  the  East- 
Side  Windsors  —  A  Romance  of  the  Colony  —  Roger  Wolcott  and 
his  Homestead  —  Birthplace  of  Jonathan  Edwards  —  Timothy  Ed- 
wards and  his  remarkable  Family  —  Modem  Hartford :  Yet  a 
"  Gallant  Towne  "  — Its  Historic  and  Literary  Landmarks  —  Trinity 
College. 


xiv  Contents 

PAoa 
XXIX.   Haetpobd  to  the  Sea 448 

Down  the  River  by  Steamboat  —  Old  Dutch  Point  —  Wethersfield  back 
from  the  Meadows  —  The  Glastonburys  —  Rocky  Hill  and  Cromwell 
—  Portland  and  Middletown  at  the  Great  Bend  —  The  College  City 
— Wesleyan  University  and  Berkeley  Divinity  School  —  John  Fiske 
in  Middletown  —  The  Straits  —  The  Chatham  Hills  —  Historic 
Mines  —  "  The  Governor's  Gold  Ring  "  —  The  Lymes  and  the  Had- 
dams  —  The  Field  Family  —  Brainard  the  Missionary  to  the 
Indians  —  Essex  —  At  the  River's  Mouth. 


Illustrations 


View  of  the  Connecticut  River  between  Thetford, 
Vermont,  and  Lyme,  New  Hampshire       .      Frontispiece 

A  Dutch  Yacht  of  the  Early  17TH  Century,  Yacht  of 
the  East  India  Company,  1630         .  page 


Near  Moodus      ...... 

A  Typical  River  Boat  .... 

Quiet  LiFii;  by  the  River's  Side  . 

Dutch  Point,  Hartford.     Near  the  Site  of  the  Dutch 
"House  OF  Hope"  .... 

Lady  Fenwick's  Tomb,  Old  Saybrook 

First  Site  of  Yale  College,  Old  Saybrook. 

High  Street,  Middletown  .... 

A  View  on  the  Lower  River  Banks 

A  Seaward  Look  across  the  Marshes,  Saybrook 

The  Heart  of  Old  Saybrook        .... 

A  River  Fishing  Camp — Camp  Wopowog,  Near  East 
Haddam  ...... 

Sturgeon  Fishing        ...... 

Salmon  River,  East  Haddam,  Idling  to  the  Connec 
ticut      ........ 

Salmon   River,     "By  mossy  bank  and  darkly  waving  wood" 
Tree-clad  Rocky  Point       ...... 


6 
20 
36 
50 

66 

74 

78 

82 

98 
no 
112 

116 
118 

124 
130 
148 


xvi  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Door  of  the  "Ensign  Sheldon  House,"  with  its 
"Hatchet-Hewn  Face."  Relic  of  the  Sack  of 
Deerfield.  February,  1703/4  ....      164 

The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Son,  Stephen  Williams, 
Minister  of  Longmeadow  for  Sixty-six  Years 
(1716-1782)     .  ......      180 

White    River    Junction,    and    West    Lebanon,    New 

Hampshire  Side      .......      186 

White  River  Junction  and  Lebanon  Bridge,  at  High 

Water 188 

The  Great  Ox  Bow,  Newbury,  Vermont  Side     .  .     202 

Site  of  the  Historic  Fort  "No.  4"  of  the  French  and 

Indian  Wars,  Charlestown    .....     210 

A  River  Island — Chase's  Island,  Looking  North         .     220 

An  Island  View,  near  Hanover  ....      224 

Windsor  Bridge,  Windsor,  Mount  Ascutney  in  the 

Distance        ........     230 

Pine  Grove  on  the  River's  Bank,  near  Hanover  234 

View  from  Kilburn  Peak,  near  Bellows  Falls,  Look- 
ing South — Kilburn  Peak  Side  at  the  Left     .      .      244 

The  Bend — Two  Miles  North  of  Hanover  .  .     252 

Eleazar  Wheelock  (1711-1779),     Founder     of    Dart- 
mouth College        .......      258 

From  an  old  painting. 

John  Wheelock  (i  754-181 7),  Son  of  Eleazar  Wheelock, 

Second  President  of  Dartmouth  College       .  .      264 

Dartmouth  College  in  1790         .....     300 

From  a  print  in  the  Massachusetts  Magazine,   1800. 

A  Typical  Chain  Ferry        ......      308 

Seal  of  the  Proprietors  of  Locks  and  Canals.  Show- 
ing the  Contrivance  First  Used  at  South  Hadley 
for  Passing  Boats  ......     312 


Illustrations 

Remains  op  the  Old  Olcott  Falls  Locks,  New  Hamp- 
shire Side.    Two  Miles  North   of  White  River 
Junction        ........ 

Olcott  Falls  Dam  of  To-day,  Olcott 

The  Modern  Olcott — "Wilder's"        .  .  .  . 

Entrance  of  the  Enfield  Canal  at  Windsor  Locks 

The  River  between  Fairlee  and  Orford.     Scene  of 
the  Trials  of  Morey's  First  Steamboat,  1792-93 

Middle  Haddam  Landing 

Rock  Landing     ..... 

East  Haddam  Upper  Landing 

Deep  River  Landing  .... 


Modern  Steamboating  on  the  River — ^The  ' 
Line"     ...... 


Hartford 


Fountains  of  the  River.  The  Upper  Connecticut 
Lake      ......... 

Fountains  of  the  River.  First,  or  Connecticut, 
Lake — Mount  Magalloway  at  the  Left 

McIndoe's — Below  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls 

Bellows  Falls  Dam    ....... 

At  the  Head  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach — North- 
field:  THE  DwiGHT  L.  Moody  Institutions  on  the 
Left  Bank     .... 

The   Straits — Below  Middletown 

Looking  toward  the  Straits 

The  Promontory — Above  Saybrook 

A  Logmen's  Houseboat 

Breaking  up  a  Log  Jam 


XVll 

PAGB 
316 

330 
332 

334 
336 
338 

340 

346 

350 
356 
358 

360 

362 

364 
366 
368 
370 


xviii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

Junction  of  the  Ammonoosuc,  Wells  River,  and   the 

Connecticut — ^Woodsville.New  Hampshire  Side     .     372 

The  Little  Ox  Bow — Haverhill,  New  Hampshire  Side     374 

Dartmouth    College    Bridge.      Between     Norwich, 

Vermont  Side,  and  the  College  Town    .  .  .     376 

Dartmouth  College — The  Campus       ....     378 

Dartmouth  College— Dartmouth  Hall       .  .  .     380 

Dartmouth     College — The     College     Inn     and    the 

College  Club,  from  the  Campus      ....     382 

Dartmouth  College — Looking  down  from  the  Tower 

IN  THE  College  Park      ......     384 

John  Ledyard,  the  Traveller     .....     386 

"One  of  the  most  romantic  and  original  manifestations  of 
the  Dartmouth  spirit." 

Dartmouth  College — The  Rollins  Chapel   .        .  .     388 

Suspension  Bridge,  near  Brattleborough  .  .     390 

Deerfield  Old  Street,  1671-1906         ....     394 

Looking  down   from  Sugarloaf,   South   Deerfield — 

Sunderland  across  the  River         ....     398 

"Elm  Valley" — The  Porter-Phelps-Huntington  Home- 
stead, Hadley        .......     402 

"One  of  the  finest  types  of  the  Colonial  Farm  Seat  in  the 
Valley." 

Round  Hill,  Northampton,  in  the  Eighteen-thirties     404 

(The  period  of  Cogswell  and  Bancroft's  Round  Hill  School 

for  Boys  here.) 
From  an  old  print. 

Jonathan  Edwards      .......     406 

From   a   portrait    of    1740,    the    most    authentic    portrait 
existing. 

Wife  of  Jonathan  Edwards         .....     406 
From  a  portrait  of  1740. 


Illustrations  xix 


PAGE 


The  Jonathan  Edwards  Elm,  Northampton:  in  Front 
OF  THE  Whitney  House  on  the  Site  of  the  House 
OF  Jonathan  Edwards.  The  Whitney  Family 
Grouped  about  the  Tree        .....     408 

Smith  College — College  Hall    .....     410 

From    photographs    by    Miss    Katherine    E.    McClellan, 
Northampton. 

Smith  College — The  Students' Building     .         .         .412 

Smith  College — Seelye  Hall      .  .  .  .  .414 

From    photographs    by    Miss    Katherine    E.    McClellan, 
Northampton. 

Smith  College — View  across  the  Campus    .  .  .      416 

Smith  College  Commencement,  1905,  Ivy  Day      .         .     418 

From    a    photograph    by    Miss    Katherine    E.    McClellan, 
Northampton. 

The  Railroad  up  Mount  Tom       .....     420 

The  Dam  at  Holyoke  .  .  .         .         .  .422 

Holyoke.     Looking  North  from  the  City  Hall  .  .     424 

City  Library  and  Art  Museum,  Springfield         .  .     426 

The  Springfield  Home  of  George  Bancroft         .  .     428 

A  Connecticut  Valley  Tobacco  Farm  .         .  .432 

The  Connecticut  State  Capitol  and  Bushnell  Park, 

Hartford       ........     438 

Main  Street,  Hartford       ......     440 

Old  State  House,  Hartford,  and  City  Hall.  Place 
of  the  Sitting  of  the  Hartford  Convention  during 
THE  War  of  1812     .......     442 

The  Charter  Oak,  Hartford       .....     444 

Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Memorial  Arch,  Hartford       .     446 

The  Portland  Quarry         ......     44S 


XX  Illustrations 

PAGS 

Wesleyan  University — "College  Row"      .         .         .     450 

Wesleyan  University — North  College.       Destroyed 

BY  Fire  March  I,  1906  .....     452 

Wesleyan  University — Wilbur  Fisk  Hall  .         .     454 

Wesleyan  University — Orange  Judd  Hall  op  Natural 

Science  ........     45^ 

Wesleyan  University — Scott  Laboratory  op  Physics     458 

Wesleyan  University — Memorial  Chapel    .         .         .     460 

Saybrook  Lighthouse  at  the  River's  Mouth       .         .     462 

Map  op  the  Connecticut  River     ....  at  end 


The  Connecticut  River 


I 

2/637 
Dutch  Discovery  and  First  Occupation 

Adriaen  Block  on  the  River  in  1614  —  First  of  European  Navigators  to  Enter  and 
Explore  it  —  His  Sixty-mile  Cruise  up  the  Stream  in  an  American  Built 
Yacht  —  Story  of  Block  and  his  Voyage  along  the  New  England  Coast  — 
Action  by  the  States  General  on  his  Discoveries  —  The  "Figurative  Map'* 
—  A  Remarkable  Coincidence  —  The  Dutch  alone  Established  on  the  River 
for  nearly  Eighteen  Years  —  The  first  Rapier  Thrust  between  the]  Dutch 
and  the  English. 

IN  the  year  1614  Adiiaen  Block,  Dutch  navigator, 
came  first  of  all  Europeans  upon  the  Connecticut  and 
explored  its  lower  waters  for  sixty  miles  in  an  American 
built  "yacht."  That  was  six  years  before  the  advent  of 
the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  and  before  a  single  enduring 
settlement  of  white  men  had  been  effected  on  the  North 
Atlantic  coast.  The  native  Indians  called  the  stream 
Quinni-tukq-^t,  or  Qiioneh-ta-cut,  the  "Long  Tidal  River." 
Block,  perceiving  a  strong  downward  current  a  short  dis- 
tance above  its  mouth,  named  it  De  Yersche  Riviere,  the 
"Freshwater  River."  Block's  name  held  with  the  Dutch 
who  came  after  him  so  long  as  they  remained  about  the 
River.  The  English  adopted  that  of  Connecticut,  a  form 
evolved  from  the  more  euphonious  and  significant  Indian 
name. 

Unkind  and  partisan  historians  have  sought  to  rob  the 


2  Connecticut  River 

Dutch  of  the  credit  of  the  River's  first  discovery  and  its 
opening  to  civilization.  Some  have  belittled  Block's 
achievement  by  dwelling  upon  the  unfruitful  discoveries, 
or  reputed  discoveries,  of  earlier  navigators.  Some  insist 
that  Estevan  Gomez,  the  Portuguese  navigator  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Spain,  was  the  true  discoverer,  when  he  skirted  the 
coast  from  Labrador  to  Florida  in  1525.  Others  are  dis- 
posed to  credit  its  discovery  to  Giovanni  de  Verrazzano, 
the  Florentine  corsair,  commanding  the  first  North  Ameri- 
can expedition  sent  out  by  the  king  of  France,  who  sailed 
the  coast  from  North  Carolina  to  Newfoundland  two  years 
before  Gomez,  and  discovered  New  York,  Block  Island,  and 
Narragansett  Bay.  But  it  is  not  at  all  clear  that  either  of 
these  mariners  even  sighted  this  River.  Verrazzano  appar- 
ently was  quite  ignorant  of  its  existence,  for  he  passed 
Long  Island  on  the  sea  side.  In  his  letter  to  the  king 
(the  genuineness  of  which  is  no  longer  questioned  by  most 
authorities)  he  records  no  incident  of  his  voyage  between 
New  York  and  Narragansett  Bay.  His  first  mention  is  of 
Block  Island,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Luisa,"  in 
compliment  to  the  King's  "illustrious  mother,"  Louise  of 
Saxony.  As  for  Gomez,  there  is  little  or  nothing  substan- 
tial of  record  concerning  his  voyage.  Indeed,  Professor 
George  Dexter,  most  thorough  of  investigators,  has  shown 
that  it  is  impossible  to  determine  with  certainty  in  what 
direction  Gomez  explored  the  American  coast.  His  ex- 
plorations were  of  no  value  whatever  with  respect  to  our 
River.  While  these  and  perhaps  other  navigators  may  have 
coasted  in  its  neighborhood,  it  remained  virtually  unknown 
to  Europeans  and  untouched  by  European  craft  till  Block, 
imder  the  Dutch  flag,  turned  his  prow  into  its  placid 
waters. 

Just  as  to  the  Dutch,  and  Henry  Hudson  sailing  under 


Dutch  Discovery  and  First  Occupation  3 

their  patronage,  belongs  the  credit  of  the  practical  dis- 
covery and  opening  of  the  great  river  of  New  York,  so  to 
the  Dutch  and  Adriaen  Block  is  due  the  honor  of  the  dis- 
covery and  occupation  of  the  great  river  of  New  England, 
an  achievement  as  important  in  its  way  in  the  consequences 
that  followed. 

That  the  Dutch  were  unable  long  to  hold  the  River 
after  the  English  pushed  in  is  no  justification  for  filching 
from  them  the  laurels  that  they  fairly  won.  Nor  was  the 
successful  elbowing  of  them  from  the  fertile  lands  and  the 
River's  trade,  by  virtue  of  conflicting  claims,  warrant  for 
the  assumption  that  they,  albeit  the  first  comers,  were  the 
interlopers.  While  it  is  apparent  that  the  rich  intervals 
of  the  Valley  were  lovelier  in  the  Dutchman's  eye  for  the 
profitable  beaver-skins  to  be  gathered  here  than  as  the 
"  home  and  inheritance  of  his  race,"  he  had  doubtless  come 
to  stay.  It  is  doubtless  as  true  that  when  the  Englishman 
had  once  got  the  "  smell  of  the  excellence  and  conveni- 
ence of  the  River,"  he  was  bound  to  possess  it  whether  or 
no,  quieting  his  conscience  with  the  reflection  that  it  were 
*'  a  sin  to  leave  uncultivated  so  valuable  a  land  which  could 
produce  such  excellent  com."  True,  too,  that  the  fixed 
settlement  of  communities,  the  establishment  of  the  town, 
and  the  organization  of  government  came  with  the  Eng- 
lish. But  let  the  Dutch  have  the  credit  which  is  justly 
theirs  for  discovering  and  opening  the  way ;  and  not  the 
less  for  carrying  themselves  on  the  whole  with  patience 
and  discretion  when  their  stolid  eyes  witnessed  the  pressing 
of  their  more  rapid  competitors  upon  their  preserves. 

Adriaen  Block  was  no  ordinary  mariner.  He  had  made 
a  previous  voyage  from  Holland  to  Manhattan  in  or  about 
1612,  in  company  with  another  worthy  Dutch  captain, 
Hendrich  Christiaensen.     That  was  a  venture  planned  by 


4  Connecticut  River 

Christiaensen  for  observation  and  trade  about  Hudson's 
River.  Cbristiaensen  had  been  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Manhattan  the  previous  year,  when  returning  from  a  voy- 
age to  the  West  Indies,  and  had  then  determined  that  his 
next  adventure  should  be  to  this  region.  Thus  it  was  that 
the  scheme  with  Block  was  projected.  The  two  comrades 
came  out  in  a  ship  presumably  chartered  by  themselves. 
They  remained  at  Manhattan  only  long  enough,  apparently, 
to  take  on  a  cargo  of  furs  and  two  "  passengers."  The 
passengers  were  natives,  sons  of  "  the  chiefs  there,"  whom 
they  captured  or  had  enticed  to  their  vessel.  Back  in 
Holland  the  reports  which  they  made  of  the  riches  of  the 
new  country,  with  the  exhibition  of  the  two  Indians, — 
Orson  and  Valentine  the  dusky  natives  were  called, — 
"  added  fresh  impetus  to  the  awakened  enterprise  of  the 
Dutch  merchants."  For  now,  with  the  United  Netherlands 
just  emerged  as  an  independent  nation,  the  Dutch  were 
leading  in  maritime  commerce.  Three  merchants  of  Am- 
sterdam, one  of  them  Hans  Horgers,  a  director  of  the 
East  India  Company,  which  had  fitted  out  the  "Half 
Moon"  for  Hudson  in  1609,  were  quickest  to  act.  Two 
vessels,  the  "  Fortune  "  and  the  "  Tiger,"  were  equipped, 
and,  placed  respectively  mider  the  commands  of  Christiaen- 
sen and  Block,  were  despatched  forthwith  for  traffic  and 
exploration  in  the  new  region. 

This  was  the  voyage,  begun  in  the  summer  of  1613, 
that  brought  Block  to  his  discoveries.  Other  Dutch  mer- 
chants almost  immediately  joined  in  the  adventure,  and 
close  upon  the  "Fortune"  and  the  "Tiger"  three  more 
ships  were  sent  out  under  venturesome  captains.  These 
Dutch  mariners  were  all  exploring  this  region  at  the  same 
time  with  Christiaensen  and  Block. 

Had  not  Block's  "  Tiger  "  met  with  disaster,  the  course 


Dutch  Discovery  and  First  Occupation  5 

of  our  history  might  have  been  changed.  Certainly  a 
different  story  would  have  been  told.  Block  was  at  Man- 
hattan making  ready  to  return  to  Holland  with  a  full  cargo 
of  peltry  on  board  his  ship  when  she  suddenly  caught  fire 
and  was  entirely  destroyed.  Her  loss  was  his  opportunity. 
He  at  once  set  about  the  building  of  a  new  craft  from  the 
fine  ship's  timber  then  abundant  on  Manhattan.  Winter 
approaching  he  and  his  companions  put  up  some  rude  huts 
for  shelter  near  the  southern  point  of  the  island.  These 
were  probably  the  first  white  men's  habitations  in  New 
York.  The  work  on  the  new  ship  occupied  the  winter, 
during  which  the  Dutchmen  were  generously  supplied  with 
food  "  and  all  kinds  of  necessities  "  by  the  friendly  native 
savages.  In  the  spring  the  vessel  was  ready  for  launching. 
She  took  the  water  with  the  name  of  Onrmst,  —  the 
"  Restless,"  — a  fitting  title,  as  it  proved,  for  the  animated 
career  in  store  for  her.  Her  measurements  were  thus  of 
record:  thirty-eight  feet  keel,  forty-four  and  a  haK  feet 
upper  length,  eleven  and  a  half  feet  wide ;  and  about  eight 
casts  or  sixteen  tons  burthen. 

Such  was  the  little  craft  that  has  sailed  into  history  as 
the  "  first  American-built  yacht."  But  the  "  Virginia  of 
Sagadahoc,"  that  "  pretty  pinnace  "  of  thirty  tons,  built  by 
the  unhappy  Popham  Colony  and  launched  on  the  Kenne- 
bec of  Maine  six  years  earlier,  should  not  be  ignored.  The 
"  Virginia,"  to  be  sure,  had  no  such  brilliant  record  as  the 
"  Restless. ' '  Her  emplojnnent  was  not  in  gallant  adventure, 
but  in  the  dismal  task  of  conveying  a  freight  of  disheart- 
ened colonists  back  to  Europe  upon  the  abandonment  of  an 
ill-advised  settlement.  Yet  she  was  the  pioneer  American 
yacht,  the  forerunner  of  the  great  ship-building  interests 
on  the  Kennebec,  and  should  have  the  head  place  in  the 
line.     The  "  Restless  "  has  glory  sufficient  as  the  "  pioneer 


6  Connecticut  River 

vessel  launched  by  white  men  on  the  waters  "  of  commer- 
cial New  York  ;  the  first  of  American  build  to  sail  through 
Long  Island  Sound,  around  Cape  Cod,  and  up  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  when  no  white  man's  plantation  was  an^^where 
in  the  region;  and  the  first  of  all  craft  of  white  men  to 
enter  and  explore  "  The  Beautiful  River." 

It  was  a  spring  day,  one  of  those  fragrant  days  which 
bloom  upon  Manhattan  in  the  vernal  season,  it  is  pleasant 
to  fancy,  when  Block  embarked  with  his  crew  in  his 
"  Restless  "  and  pointed  her  nose  eastward.  Sailing  boldly 
through  the  whirlpool  of  Hell  Gate,  the  first  European 
pilot  to  make  this  perilous  strait,  and  giving  it  its  expres- 
sive name,  he  entered  the  Sound,  —  the  "Great  Bay"  as 
he  termed  it.  Cautiously  skirting  the  northern  shore,  he 
passed  the  group  of  islands  off  Norwalk,  which  he  called 
the  "  Archipelagos."  Farther  along  he  discovered  the 
Housatonic,  the  '*  river  from  over  the  mountains,"  as  its 
Indian  name  is  said  to  imply,  which  enters  the  Sound  at 
the  present  Stratford.  This  he  described  as  a  "  bow-shot 
wide,"  and  named  it  the  "River  of  Roodenberg"  or  Red 
HiUs.  Passing  by  the  bay  at  the  head  of  which  New  Haven 
lies,  he  coursed  on  till  he  came  to  "  the  mouth  of  a  large 
river  running  up  northerly  into  the  land."  Observing 
here  but  few  natives  about  the  shores,  he  turned  from  the 
"  Great  Bay  "  and  ventured  the  unknown  stream. 

So  it  happened  that  this  River  was  discovered  and  its 
exploration  begun  by  a  Dutchman  in  an  American-built 
yacht. 

Block,  as  he  sailed  up  the  River,  made  careful  notes  of 
stream  and  shore.  He  found  the  water  at  the  entrance 
"very  shallow,"  and  soon  observed  the  fresh  downward 
current  which  suggested  his  name  for  the  River.     Follow- 


Dutch  Discovery  and  First  Occupation  7 

ing  the  winding  course,  now  between  greening  meadows, 
now  past  hilly  banks,  again  by  fertile  intervals,  by  forest- 
fringed  shores  and  through  the  narrow  pass,  the  explorer 
saw  little  of  human  life  till  a  point  which  he  reckoned  as 
about  forty-five  miles  above  the  mouth  was  reached :  the 
first  principal  bend  at  the  present  Middletown.  Here  In- 
dians became  numerous,  and  he  marked  their  lodges  on 
both  sides  for  a  considerable  distance  up  the  stream,  and 
learned  that  they  were  of  the  "  nation  called  Seguins,"  one 
of  the  largest  of  the  River  tribes.  Farther  along,  at  about 
the  present  Hartford,  and  above,  he  came  to  "  the  country 
of  the  Nawaas,"  where  "the  natives  plant  maize."  At  a 
point  on  the  east  side,  where  is  now  South  Windsor,  be- 
tween the  two  tributaries,  the  Podunk  and  Scantic  Rivers, 
was  their  fortified  village.  This  was  palisaded  or  paled 
about  for  defence  against  the  intruding  Pequots,  the  com- 
mon enemy  of  the  River  tribes,  and  originally  of  the  Mo- 
hican nation  of  the  Hudson  River  country,  who,  driven 
from  their  old  homes  by  the  Mohawks,  had  invaded  Con- 
necticut and  planted  themselves  in  seized  territory  on  the 
Sound  shores  west  of  the  Thames  River. 

At  this  village  Block  made  a  landing  and  had  "  parley" 
with  the  curious  people,  whom  he  found  friendly  and  com- 
municative. From  them  he  learned  of  another  nation  of 
savages  dwelling  "within  the  land,"  presumably  about  the 
lakes  west  of  the  far  upper  parts  of  the  River,  who  navi- 
gated it  in  "  canoes  made  of  bark,"  and  brought  down  rich 
peltry:  very  practical  information  to  carry  back  to  the 
trading  merchants  in  Holland.  Reembarking,  our  intrepid 
mariner  continued  up  stream  without  further  incident,  so 
far  as  his  relation  indicates,  till  he  reached  the  Enfield 
Rapids,  through  which  he  could  not  pass.  Here,  therefore, 
his  exploration  ended,  and  putting  his  ship  about  he  re- 


8  Connecticut  River 

turned  to  the  Sound,  after  exploring  practically  the  entire 
length  of  the  River  in  the  present  state  of  Connecticut. 
He  never  saw  the  River  again. 

His  voyage  continued  down  the  Sound  eastward  with  a 
succession  of  important  discoveries.  He  took  note,  first, 
of  the  Thames  River,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
"  River  of  the  Siccanomos."  Here  he  found  the  Pequots 
— Pequatos  he  termed  them  —  in  possession  of  the  country. 
Observing  land  across  the  Sound  and  making  for  it,  he 
discovered  it  to  be  the  eastern  extremity  of  Long  Island. 
He  was  thus  the  first  to  determine  the  insular  character  of 
that  great  strip  of  territory.  The  point,  now  Montauk, 
was  named  "  Visscher's  Hoeck."  Sailing  then  northeast- 
ward he  came  upon  Block  Island,  Verrazzano's  discovery 
of  nearly  a  century  before.  Upon  this  his  own  name  was 
bestowed,  and  it  remains  the  sole  memorial  of  his  exploits. 
Next,  following  Verrazzano's  track,  he  explored  Narragan- 
sett  Bay.  Point  Judith  he  named  Wapanoos  Point,  from 
the  Indian  tribe  whom  he  found  dwelling  along  the  west- 
em  shore  of  the  bay,  and  described  as  "  strong  of  limb  " 
but  of  "moderate  size."  Rhode  Island  he  called  "  Roodt 
Eijlandt "  from  its  "  reddish  appearance,"  through  the  prev- 
alence of  red  clay  on  parts  of  it.  Still  onward,  he  "  ran 
across  "  the  mouth  of  Buzzard's  Bay,  by  Cutty  hunk,  where 
Bartholomew  Gosnold  had  attempted  a  plantation  twelve 
years  before.  Thence  he  sailed  by  Martha's  Vineyard,  and, 
southward,  by  No  Man's  Land,  naming  the  latter  "  Hen- 
drick  Christiaensen's  Island,"  in  compliment  to  his  brother 
mariner ;  passed  through  Nantucket  Sound ;  explored  the 
shores  of  Cape  Cod ;  coasted  Cape  Cod  Bay ;  glanced  per- 
haps toward  Plymouth  Harbor;  and,  entering  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  explored  its  primeval  shores  as  far  north  as 
Nahant  Bay,  —  the  "Pye  Bay"  of  the  Dutch  navigators. 


Dutch  Discovery  and  First  Occupation  9 

About  Nahant  he  found  dwelling  "  a  numerous  people." 
They  were  ''•  extremely  good  looking,"  but  "  shy  of  Chris- 
tians," and  it  required  "  some  address  "  to  approach  them, 
—  fit  forerunners  of  the  latter-day  summer  dwellers  on 
this  choice  rocky  peninsula  reaching  out  into  the  sea, 
which  rare  "  Tom  Appleton  "  of  the  dead  and  gone  "  Bos- 
ton wits"  so  artfully  renamed  "Cold  Roast  Boston." 
Salem,  also.  Block  may  have  approached,  for  on  the  Dutch 
map  afterward  made  in  accordance  with  his  narrative  its 
harbor  is  set  down  as  "  Count  Hendrick's  Bay." 

This  was  the  extent  of  Block's  adventure,  to  which  the 
stock  histories  give  scant  attention.  Going  back  to  Cape 
Cod,  he  there  fell  in  with  the  "  Fortune,"  Christiaensen, 
apparently,  having  been  exploring  northward  from  Man- 
hattan. Comparing  notes,  the  comrades  determined  to  re- 
turn at  once  to  Holland  and  report  upon  their  discoveries. 
So  Block  turned  his  "  Restless  "  over  to  Cornells  Hendrick- 
sen,  a  companion  of  Christiaensen,  and  the  two  captains 
set  sail  on  the  "  Fortune  "  for  home. 

At  Amsterdam  Block  appears  to  have  told  his  story  so 
well  that  the  merchant  traders  took  instant  action  to 
secure  the  benefits  of  his  exploration.  They  organized 
the  Amsterdam  Trading  Company ;  caused  a  "  Figurative 
Map  "  to  be  prepared  from  Block's  data,  if  not  under  his 
personal  supervision;  promptly  laid  this  map  with  an 
account  of  the  discoveries  before  the  States  General ;  and 
on  the  strength  of  the  documentary  evidence  asked  for  a 
trading  license  in  accordance  with  an  ordinance  passed  a 
few  months  before,  offering  to  "  whosoever  should  .  .  .  dis- 
cover any  new  passages,  havens,  lands,  or  places,"  the  exclu- 
sive right  of  navigating  the  same  for  four  voyages.  The 
charter  for  the  four  voyages  was  duly  executed,  their  High 


10  Connecticut  River 

Mightinesses  giving  the  company  a  monopoly  of  trade  in 
the  region  described  for  a  period  of  three  years.  This  in- 
strument bore  date  of  October  11, 1614,  and  in  it  appeared 
for  the  first  time  the  term  "  New  Netherland  "  as  the  offi- 
cial designation  of  the  "  unoccupied  region  of  America  lying 
between  Virginia  and  Canada."  The  sea  coast  of  New 
Netherland  was  declared  to  extend  from  the  fortieth  to  the 
forty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude,  the  Dutch  discoveries 
being  defined  as  lying  between  these  latitudes.  On  the 
"  Figurative  Map  "  the  English  possessions  under  the  gen- 
eral term  of  Virginia  are  represented  as  extending  south- 
ward of  the  fortieth  degree,  and  the  French  Canada  and 
Acadia  northward  of  the  forty-fifth  degree.  The  interme- 
diate region,  which  the  Dutch  now  claimed.  Block  and  the 
other  Dutch  navigators  described  correctly  as  then  "  inhab- 
ited only  by  aboriginal  savage  tribes,"  and  yet  "  unoccupied 
by  any  Christian  prince  or  state."  This  was  the  first  Dutch 
charter,  obtained  upon  the  report  of  the  discoverer  and  first 
navigator  of  our  River. 

Although  the  intermediate  region  was  included  in  the 
general  English  claim  long  set  up  to  vast  parts  of  North 
America  in  right  of  discovery  by  the  Cabots,  and  although 
part  of  it  was  covered  by  King  James's  first  Virginia  pa- 
tents of  1606,  possession  by  colonization,  held  by  all  to  be 
requisite  to  complete  title  by  discovery,  had  not  been  ac- 
complished within  it,  the  settlement  at  Jamestown  being 
below  the  fortieth  degree.  It  is  true  that  at  the  same  time 
that  Block  was  exploring  our  River  and  down  the  coast, 
Captain  John  Smith,  with  colonization  in  view,  was  taking 
his  observations  up  the  coast  between  Penobscot  Bay  and 
Cape  Cod.  It  was  certainly  a  remarkable  coincidence, 
quite  a  romance  of  history,  that  almost  at  the  very  moment 
that  the  Figurative  Map  with  Block's  description  was  be- 


Dutch  Discovery  and  First  Occupation  11 

fore  the  States  General  at  the  Hague,  Smith's  map  with 
the  story  of  his  adventures  was  engaging  Prince  Charles 
at  London ;  and  that  the  names  of  New  Netherland  and 
New  England  should  be  applied  simultaneously  to  over- 
lapping territories,  neither  body  at  the  time  being  aware 
of  what  the  other  was  doing.  But  had  the  statesmen  at 
the  Hague  been  cognizant  of  the  proceedings  at  London, 
they  might,  as  Brodhead  (History  of  New  York)  says, 
"  justly  have  considered  the  territory  which  they  now  form- 
ally named  New  Netherland  as  a  '  vacuum  domicilium ' 
fairly  open  to  Dutch  enterprise  and  occupation."  Subse- 
quently, however,  the  New  Netherland  bounds  were  more 
closely  defined  as  between  "  South  Bay,"  or  the  Delaware, 
on  the  south,  and  "  Pye  Bay,"  or  Nahant,  on  the  north. 
Thus  matters  remained  till  1620,  when  James  of  England 
granted  his  sweeping  Great  Patent  for  New  England  in 
America,  which  embraced  all  the  region  extending  from 
the  fortieth  to  the  forty-eighth  degree  of  latitude,  and  be- 
tween the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  and  so  absorbed  the 
territory  of  the  French  Acadia  and  the  Dutch  New  Nether- 
land. In  1621  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  received 
their  charter  from  the  States  General  with  power  to  "  col- 
onize, govern,  and  defend  "  New  Netherland.  Then  the 
trouble  began. 

With  the  issue  of  the  charter  of  1614  Adriaen  Block 
disappears  from  our  story.  He  was  named  with  the  other 
ship-captains  in  the  employ  of  the  Amsterdam  merchants 
for  the  four  voyages  authorized ;  but  he  did  not  return  to 
American  waters.  Lambrecht  van  Tweenhuysen,  one  of 
the  joint  owners  of  the  lost  "  Tiger,"  having  become  con- 
cerned in  the  Northern  Company,  chartered  earlier  in  1614 
for  the  whale  fishery   in  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  for  the 


12  Connecticut  River 

exploration  of  a  new  passage  to  China,  prevailed  upon  him 
to  take  command  of  some  ships  for  this  business.  That 
he  sailed  for  the  Arctic  Ocean  early  in  1615  is  the  last 
fact  concerning  him  which  history  records. 

And  what  of  the  '"Restless"?  Skipper  Hendricksen 
sailed  her  in  further  exploration  of  the  coasts.  In  1616 
she  explored  the  Delaware  and  the  adjacent  shores  from 
that  river's  mouth  to  the  upper  waters,  discovering  the 
Schuylkill  and  other  streams.  She  was  also  engaged  in 
traffic  with  the  Delaware  Indians  in  sealskins  and  sables ; 
but  she  does  not  appear  again  on  our  River,  and  her  ultimate 
fate  is  unknown. 

The  Amsterdam  ships  coming  out  under  the  charter  of 
1614  were  soon  here  trading  in  peltry  with  the  River  In- 
dians, as  well  as  cruising  about  Manhattan  and  the  Hudson. 
Others  in  the  service  of  the  West  India  Company  followed, 
enjoying  a  profitable  trade.  As  a  ride  these  Dutch  traders 
treated  the  natives  decently  and  kept  their  good  will. 
But  Jacob  Eelkens,  commissary  at  Fort  Orange,  smirched 
the  record  by  a  treacherous  act.  While  here  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1622,  trading  with  the  Sequins,  he  invited  their 
confiding  chief  to  his  ship,  and  when  the  savage  was  en- 
joying Eelkens'  hospitality  he  was  seized,  and  held  captive 
till  a  handsome  ransom  in  wampum  was  paid  over.  This 
performance  so  incensed  the  River  tribes  that  they  cut  off 
all  dealings  with  the  Dutch  till  they  heard  that  Eelkens 
had  been  removed  from  his  post ;  as  he  fortunately  was 
soon  after. 

For  nearly  eighteen  years  after  Block's  entry  Dutch 
ships  only  visited  the  River  and  cultivated  the  profitable 
Indian  trade.  Neither  Pilgrim  nor  Puritan  vessel  appeared 
in  its  waters  till  1631.     It  was  unknown  to  the  Plymouth 


Dutch  Discovery  and  First  Occupation         13 

men  till  the  Dutch  at  Manhattan  told  them  of  it  and  in- 
vited them  hither.  "  Seeing  them  seated  in  a  barren  quar- 
ter" on  the  Plymouth  sands,  the  Dutch  commended  the 
region  to  them  "  for  a  fine  place  both  for  plantation  and 
trade/'  and  "wished  them  to  make  use  of  it."  This  was 
about  the  year  1627,  when  messages  of  "  friendly  kindness 
and  good  neighborhood  "  were  passing  between  New  Am- 
sterdam and  New  Plymouth.  The  Pilgrims'  "  hands " 
"'being  full  otherAvise"  at  that  time  they  expressed  their 
thanks  for  the  invitation,  and  let  the  matter  pass.  But  at 
the  outset,  in  these  exchanges  of  courtesies,  Bradford  was 
politely  cautioning  the  Dutch  against  settling  or  trading 
within  the  limits  of  the  patent  of  New  England,  while 
Minuit  was  as  politely  asserting  their  right  and  liberty 
under  the  authority  of  the  States  General  to  settle  and 
trade  where  they  were. 

These  were  the  first  rapier  thrusts,  sharp,  though  given 
with  delicacy  on  both  sides,  which  opened  the  struggle 
for  supremacy  on  our  River,  in  which  the  English  finally 
triumphed. 


II 

English   Occupation 

First  Move  by  the  Pljrmouth  Men  in  1633  —  Banished  River  Sachems  in  Plymouth 
and  Boston  —  Edward  Winslow's  Preliminary  Exploration  —  Disingenu- 
ousness  of  the  Bay  Colony  Leaders  —  Their  Prospecting  Parties  in  the  River 
Region  —  Exchange  of  Letters  as  to  Dutch  and  English  Rights  —  Affairs 
Shaping  for  a  Pretty  Quarrel  —  The  Dutch  "House  of  Hope" — The 
"Lords  and  Gentlemen's"  Patent  —  Entry  of  the  Pilgrims  —  Ignoring 
the  Dutchmen's  Challenge  —  Van  Twiller's  formidable  Protest. 

THE  Pilgrims  of  Plymouth  were  the  first  English  to 
plant  on  the  River,  coming  in  1633,  six  years  after 
the  Dutch  had  invited  them  to  the  region.  Long  before, 
however,  the  Dutch  had  repented  that  invitation,  and  now, 
having  strengthened  their  preserves,  were  fortifying  them- 
selves against  English  intrusion. 

The  Pilgrims  began  seriously  to  consider  the  move  in 
1631,  after  a  visit  from  some  of  the  River  sachems  who  had 
been  banished  from  their  country  by  the  conquering  Pequots, 
and  were  seeking  English  aid  to  their  restoration.  These 
sachems  appeared  in  Plymouth  early  that  year  and  urged 
the  colony  to  set  up  a  trading  house  on  their  territory, 
promising  ''much  trade"  and  other  advantages.  Their 
proposition  was  heard  with  attention,  but  no  assurance  of 
acceptance  was  then  given. 

Accordingly  the  sachems  next  went  up  to  Boston  and 
solicited  the  Puritans  of  the  Bay  Colony  "  in  like  sort." 
Thus  the  Bay  men  first  heard  of  the  nature  of  the  rich  region. 
Of  their  interview  Winthrop  makes  note  in  his  Journal 
under  date  of  April  4,  1631.     The  ambassadors  appeared 

14 


English  Occupation  15 

in  Boston  in  state.  The  chief,  the  sagamore  ''Wahgin- 
nacut,"  as  Winthrop  spells  him,  was  supported  by  two  east- 
em  chiefs  friendly  to  the  colonists,  and  '*  divers  of  their  san- 
nops."  The  sagamore  expressed  his  desire  to  have  some 
Englishmen  "come  plant"  in  his  "very  fruitful  country," 
and  offered  to  "  find  them  corn  and  give  them  yearly 
eighteen  skins  of  beaver."  He  asked  to  have  some  men 
sent  back  with  his  party  to  look  over  the  country  for  them- 
selves. Winthrop  and  the  council  listened  interestedly, 
but  like  the  Pilgrim  leaders  were  non-committal.  The  gov- 
ernor entertained  his  savage  guests  at  dinner,  and  treated 
them  handsomely,  but  he  found  it  impracticable  just  then 
to  send  any  representatives  to  the  River.  It  was  not  till 
after  their  departure  that  the  governor  discovered  that 
"the  said  sagamore"  was  "a  very  treacherous  man  and 
at  war  with  the  Pekoath  [Pequot],  a  far  greater  sagamore." 
So  Winthrop  apparently  dismissed  "  the  incident"  as  closed, 
just  as  the  Indians  fancied  Bradford  had  done.  But  the 
picture  of  the  "very  fruitful  lands"  and  the  prospect  of  a 
bountiful  trade  ready  for  profitable  harvest  were  pleasing 
to  the  commercial  minds  of  both  colonies ;  and  both  bided 
their  time. 

Meanwhile  investigations  were  quietly  made  through 
their  own  agents.  In  the  summer  or  early  autumn  follow- 
ing the  visit  of  the  sachems,  Edward  Winslow  sailed  into 
the  River  with  a  Pilgrim  crew  on  a  voyage  of  exploration. 
So  impressed  was  he  with  the  smiling  shores  that  he  straight- 
way "pitched  upon  a  place  for  a  house."  The  Dutch  as  yet 
had  only  a  rude  palisaded  trading  post  on  the  River  banks, 
at  the  point  where  Hartford  now  stands.  From  the  fact 
that  there  appeared  to  be  no  evidence  of  colonization, 
coupled  with  the  general  claim  of  the  English  to  the  re- 
gion, Winslow  was  afterward  assmned  to  have  been  the 

\    /- 


\^ 


1<5  Connecticut  River 

true  discoverer  of  the  River.  It  was  the  dictum  of  the 
commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies,  in  their  declaration 
against  the  Dutch  in  1653,  that  "Mr.  Winslow  discovered 
the  Fresh  River  when  the  Dutch  had  neither  trading  house 
nor  any  pretence  to  a  foot  of  land  there." 

After  this  opening  voyage  Pilgrim  ships  frequented  the 
River  and  trade  with  the  natives  was  pursued  by  them  "  not 
without  profit."  So  matters  continued  through  about  a 
year  and  a  half,  or  till  the  summer  of  1633,  when  the  Pil- 
grims had  at  last  become  ready  to  adopt  the  repeatedly  re- 
newed plan  of  the  banished  sachems.  They  were  the  more 
speedily  moved  to  this  course  by  reports  of  the  activity  of 
the  Dutch  in  preparations  to  head  the  English  off  the  River. 
From  a  Plymouth  trading  pinnace  returned  from  Manhat- 
tan it  was  learned  that  the  Dutch  had  already  procured 
an  Indian  title  to  strengthen  their  claim,  and  were  about 
to  build  a  fort  to  defend  it. 

A  proposal  was  now  made  by  Plymouth  to  the  Bay  men 
that  the  two  colonies  should  jointly  engage  in  the  trading 
establishment,  and  Winslow  and  Bradford  made  a  pilgrim- 
age to  Boston  to  confer  with  them  upon  the  matter.  The 
negotiations  failed,  however,  the  Bay  men  advancing  vari- 
ous weak  objections,  and  displaying  a  timidity  which  must 
have  surprised  their  humbler  brethren  at  the  time,  but 
which  after  events  appeared  sufficiently  to  explain.  Let 
Bradford's  and  Winthrop's  versions  of  this  conference  be 
given  in  their  own  words  : 

Bradford's.  "A  time  of  meeting  -was  appointed  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts and  some  of  the  chief  here  were  appointed  to  treat  with  them, 
and  went  accordingly ;  but  they  [the  Bay  men]  cast  many  fears  of 
danger  &c.,  loss  and  the  like,  which  was  perceived  to  be  the  main 
obstacles,  though  they  alleged  they  were  not  provided  of  trading 
goods.  But  those  here  [the  Plymouth  men]  offered  at  present  to 
put  in  sufficient  for  both,  provided  they  would  become  engaged  for 


English  Occupation  17 

the  half,  and  prepare  against  the  next  year.  They  confessed  more 
could  not  be  offered,  but  thanked  them,  and  told  them  they  had  no 
mind  to  it.  They  [the  Plymouth  men]  then  answered  they  hoped  it 
would  be  no  offence  unto  them  [the  Bay  men]  if  themselves  went 
on  without  them,  if  they  saw  it  meet.  They  said  there  was  no  rea- 
son they  should ;  and  thus  this  treaty  broke  off." 

WisrTHEOp's.  [July  12,  1633.]  "  Mr.  Edward  Winslow,  gov- 
ernor of  Plimouth,  and  Mr.  Bradford  came  into  the  bay,  and  went 
away  the  18th.  They  came  partly  to  confer  about  joining  in  a  trade 
to  Connecticut  for  beaver  and  hemp.  There  was  a  motion  to  set  up 
a  trading  house  there  to  prevent  the  Dutch,  who  were  about  to  build 
one ;  but  in  regard  the  place  was  not  lit  for  plantation,  there  being 
three  or  four  thousand  warlike  Indians,  and  the  river  not  to  be  gone 
into  but  by  smaller  pinnaces,  having  a  bar  affording  but  six  feet  at 
high  water,  and  for  that  no  vessels  can  get  in  for  seven  months  in  the 
year,  partly  by  reason  of  the  ice,  and  then  the  violent  stream  etc.,  we 
thought  not  fit  to  meddle  with  it." 

So  the  Plymouth  men  went  in  alone.  While,  however, 
they  were  making  their  preparations,  only  a  few  weeks  after 
the  Boston  conference,  two  Bay  colony  expeditions  into  the 
River  country  were  under  way.  In  August  Winthrop's 
"Blessing  of  the  Bay"  (the  first  ship  built  in  Massachu- 
setts) slipped  out  of  Boston  harbor  on  a  trading  voyage  to 
Long  Island  Sound,  purposing  also  to  take  in  the  River ; 
and  about  the  same  time  John  Oldham  with  two  compan- 
ions set  out  overland  on  a  prospecting  expedition  to  the  Val- 
ley. The  "  Blessing  "  duly  entered  the  River,  and  thus  was 
the  first  Puritan  vessel  to  venture  its  waters.  Thence  she 
proceeded  to  Manhattan,  and  presented  a  "commission" 
from  the  governor  of  Massachusetts  to  the  director  of  New 
Netherland,  desiring  the  Dutch  to  "  forbear  "  building  on 
the  River,  for  "  the  King  of  England  had  granted  the  river 
and  country  of  the  Connecticut  to  his  own  subjects."  The 
company  were  "  very  kindly  entertained  "  and  "  had  some 


18  Connecticut  River 

beaver  and  other  things  for  such  commodities  as  they  put 
off,"  while  the  director  (now  Wouter  Van  Twiller,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Minuit)  wrote  his  reply  to  the  Bay  governor.  It 
was  a  letter  "  very  courteous  &  respectful  as  it  had  been  to 
a  very  honorable  person,"  but  very  definite.  The  direc- 
tor "  signified  that  the  Lords  the  States  had  also  granted 
the  same  parts  to  the  West  India  Company  &  therefore 
requested  that  the  English  would  forbear  the  same  till  the 
matter  were  decided  between  the  King  of  England  and  the 
said  Lords,"  so  that  the  two  colonies  might  live  "as  good 
neighbors  in  these  heathenish  countries."  The  "Blessing" 
was  back  in  Boston  with  her  report  on  the  second  of  Octo- 
ber. Oldham  and  his  companions  had  abeady  returned 
with  pleasant  accounts  of  their  experience  and  observations. 
They  had  penetrated  to  a  point  on  the  River  about  where 
Springfield  now  is,  and  had  visited  a  sachem  who  had  "  used 
them  kindly"  and  given  them  some  beaver. 

With  this  information  the  Bay  men  rested  till  the  next 
year.  Then,  when  the  Plymouth  men  had  successfully 
cleared  the  way,  men  from  the  Bay  calmly  proceeded  to 
occupy  the  River  where  the  Plymouth  men  had  planted,  and 
afterward  "little  better  than  thrust"  them  "out."  These 
were  the  after-events  which  explain  the  reluctance  of  the 
Bay  leaders  to  join  the  Pilgrims  in  the  proposed  partner- 
ship, and  which  led  to  the  unwelcome  conclusion  so  deli- 
cately expressed  by  Savage  in  his  note  to  the  entry  in 
Winthrop's  Journal  of  July,  1633,  before  quoted:  "I  am 
constrained  to  remark  that  the  reasons  in  the  text  assigned 
.  .  .  look  to  me  more  like  pretexts  than  real  motives. 
Some  disingenuousness,  I  fear,  may  be  imputed  to  our 
council  in  stating  difficulties  to  deter  our  brethren  of  the 
humble  community  of  Plimouth  from  extending  their 
limits  to  so  advantageous  a  situation."     Bradford's  terser 


English  Occupation  19 

comment  is  that  they  had  a  "  hankering  mind  after  it"  for 
themselves. 

Before  the  Pl3rmouth  men  started  in  affairs  about  the 
River  had  shaped  themselves  for  a  pretty  quarrel.  The  Dutch 
had  fortified  their  position  with  an  Indian  deed  of  lands  on 
either  side  of  the  River,  which  they  had  procured  in  June 
from  "Tattoebum,"  the  Pequot  sachem  who  held  the  terri- 
tory by  conquest ;  giving  in  payment  for  the  lands  this  job 
lot  of  articles :  "1  piece  of  duffel  27  ells  long,  6  axes,  6  ket- 
tles, 18  knives,  one  sword  blade,  1  pr.  of  shears,  some  toys, 
and  a  musket."  They  had  taken  formal  possession  of  the 
mouth  of  the  River  at  Saybrook  Point,  an  officer  of  the 
Dutch  West  India  Company,  Hans  den  Sluys,  in  token  there- 
of affixing  the  arms  of  the  States  General  to  a  tree.  They 
had  completed  their  trading  house  and  redoubt  where  their 
palisaded  post  had  been,  had  mounted  two  cannon,  run  up 
the  Dutch  flag,  and  given  the  structure  the  trustful  name  of 
the  "House  of  Hope." 

So  much  the  Dutch  had  accomplished  since  the  early 
summer  under  the  energetic  orders  of  Wouter  Van  Twiller, 
acting  under  instructions  from  the  home  company.  Mean- 
while in  England  a  movement  was  developing  which  was 
soon  to  bring  a  new  disturbing  factor  into  the  region.  In 
the  previous  year  (March,  1631-2),  certain  "  Lords  and  Gen- 
tlemen" obtained  the  grant  of  a  great  territory  extending 
from  Point  Judith  to  New  York  and  west  to  the  Pacific, 
and  reaching  back  from  the  New  England  coast  over  Con- 
necticut and  a  part  of  Massachusetts ;  and  steps  were  now 
taking  to  plant  on  the  River  under  this  charter.  This  was 
the  instrument,  referred  to  in  the  histories  as  the  "Old  Pa- 
tent of  Connecticut,"  in  which  Robert,  Earl  of  Warwick, 
conveyed  the  rights  to  the  tract  in  question,  which  he  had 


20  Connecticut  River 

received  from  the  Plymoutii  Company  in  England,  to  a  "  syn- 
dicate" composed  of  Lord  Say  and  Sele,  Lord  Brooke,  Lord 
Rich  (the  two  latter  of  the  family  of  Warwick),  Sir  Richard 
Saltonstall,  John  Pym,  and  John  Hampden,  the  great  com- 
moner. It  was  brought  about  through  Sir  Richard  Salton- 
stall of  the  Bay  Colony,  and  resulted  directly  from  the 
roseate  accounts  of  our  River  and  its  fertile  lands  which 
Sir  Richard,  returning  to  England  in  1631,  had  given  to  his 
friends  there.  The  Dutch  West  India  Company  early  be- 
came aware  of  this  grant, — perhaps  from  Minuit,  who  was 
detained  in  England  at  the  time,  while  on  his  homeward 
journey  after  his  recall, — and  the  activity  of  Van  T wilier 
was  due  as  much,  ^^robably,  to  a  desire  to  get  the  Dutch 
preserves  here  in  readiness  for  defence  against  the  English 
Lords  and  Gentlemen  as  against  the  Plymouth  Pilgrims. 

The  Plymouth  leaders  equipped  a  "great  new  bark" 
for  their  voyage  of  occupation,  and  put  the  expedition  in 
charge  of  Lieutenant  William  Holmes,  a  resolute  man,  with 
an  equally  resolute  crew.  In  the  hold  of  the  vessel  was 
stored  the  frame  of  a  small  house  that  had  been  prepared, 
with  "boards  to  cover  and  finish  it,"  and  other  things 
necessary  for  its  quick  erection  as  against  hostile  attacks. 
A  goodly  store  of  provisions  was  also  put  in.  With  the 
ship's  company  were  taken  several  River  Indians,  among 
them  "  Altarbaenhoot "  or  "  Netawanute,"  sachem  of  the 
territory  whither  they  were  bound,  whom  the  Pequot  "Tat- 
toebum"  had  exiled,  and  whom  they  proposed  to  restore  to 
his  domain.  From  him  the  Plymouth  leaders  had  prev- 
iously acquired  the  lands  they  were  to  occupy. 

The  expedition  sailed  from  Plymouth  early  in  October 
and  reached  the  River  without  incident.  So  also  without 
incident  they  made  the  entrance  and  proceeded  up  stream 


73 
O 
O 


English  Occupation  21 

to  the  point  where  stood  the  new  Dutch  "  House  of  Hope," 
with  Jacob  Van  Curler  and  a  small  force  in  charge.  As  they 
came  alongside  the  fort  the  "  drum-beats  resounded  from 
the  walls,  and  the  cannoniers  stood  with  lighted  matches 
beside  the  two  guns,  under  the  banner  of  New  Netherland." 
The  Dutch  commander  challenged,  with  the^ demand  "what 
they  intended  and  whither  they  would  go."  The  Pilgrim 
skipper  responded,  "Up  the  River  to  trade."  Van  Curler 
bade  them  "strike  and  stay,"  or  he  would  order  the  gun- 
ners to  fire.  Holmes  retorted  that  they  w^ere  under  com- 
mission from  the  governor  of  Plymouth  to  go  up  the  River 
to  the  place  for  which  they  were  bound,  and  "  go  they 
would."  The  Dutchmen  might  shoot,  but  they  must  obey 
their  orders  and  proceed.  They  would  molest  no  one,  but 
they  woidd  go  on.  And  so  they  did  go  on,  while  the 
Dutchmen  "threatened  them  hard"  but  "shot  not." 

Arriving  at  their  destination,  at  a  point  just  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Tunxis,  they  landed,  quickly  "clapt  up"  their 
house,  and  unloaded  their  provisions.  This  accomplished, 
the  bark  departed  to  return  to  Plymouth,  and  the  little 
band  left  to  establish  the  plantation  proceeded  to  make 
themselves  as  comfortable  as  possible.  With  a  palisade 
erected  about  their  house  they  were  soon  in  condition  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  Dutch  if  further  opposed, 
but  more  especially  against  the  greater  danger  of  the 
Pequot  enemies  of  the  sachems  whom  they  reinstated. 
Thus  began  the  first  English  plantation  on  the  River,  which 
became  Windsor. 

The  Dutch  made  only  one  more  warlike  demonstration 
against  these  virile  "  Plymoutheans,"  and  this  was  deferred 
for  some  months.  First  a  formal  protest  was  made  with 
an  order  to  quit.  Upon  receiving  Van  Curler's  report. 
Van  Twiller  at  once  forwarded  to  him  a  notification  which 


22  Connecticut  River 

was  successfully  served  upon  Holmes  before  the  departure 
of  the  bark.  It  was  a  formidable  document,  but  less  dan- 
gerous than  bullets  to  both  interests  : 

"  The  Director  and  Council  of  Nieuw  Netherland  hereby  give 
notice  to  Mr.  Holmes,  lieut  and  trader  acting  on  behalf  of  the  Eng- 
lish governor  of  Plymouth,  at  present  in  the  service  of  that  nation, 
that  he  depart  forthwith,  with  all  his  people  and  houses,  from  the 
lands  lying  on  the  Fresh  River,  continually  traded  upon  by  our 
nation,  and  at  present  occupied  by  a  fort,  which  lands  have  been  pur- 
chased from  the  Indians  and  paid  for.  And  in  case  of  refusal,  we 
hereby  protest  against  all  loss  and  interest  which  the  Privileged 
West  India  Company  may  sustain. 

"  Given  at  Fort  Amsterdam  in  Nieuw  Netherland,  this  XX Vth 
Octob.  1633." 

A  written  answer  was  requested  from  Holmes,  but  he 
declined  to  give  it.  He  would  only  say  that  he  was  here 
"in  the  name  of  the  King  of  England  whose  servant  he 
was,"  and  here  "  he  would  remain."  All  this  Van  Twiller 
reported  to  his  superiors  in  Holland,  and  asked  for  further 
instructions.  While  he  was  awaiting  them  a  strategic  move 
was  attempted  to  establish  a  connection  with  the  tribe  liv- 
ing above  the  Plymouth  settling  place,  about  where  West- 
field,  Massachusetts,  now  is,  and  head  off  their  trade. 
Thus  were  repeated  the  tactics  of  the  Plymoutheans  in 
planting  themselves  above  the  Dutch. 

But  the  move  failed  through  the  breaking  out  of  the 
smallpox  among  these  Indians  with  great  virulence  and 
dreadful  mortality.  The  Dutchmen  sent  on  the  mission 
most  wretchedly  spent  the  early  winter  months  in  the  midst 
of  this  havoc.  Finally  getting  away  in  February,  they 
were  kindly  taken  in  at  the  Plymouth  House  on  their  return 
journey,  "being  almost  spent  with  hunger  and  cold,"  and 
here  were  "  refreshed  divers  days."  For  this  good  Sama- 
ritan act  those  at  the  House  of  Hope  were  most  grateful. 


English  Occupation  23 

But  when  at  length,  in  the  following  summer,  Van  Twil- 
ler's  instructions  had  come  out,  the  hostile  attitude  was 
resumed. 

Then  the  final  demonstration  was  made.  A  force  of 
"  about  seventy  men  "  was  sent  from  Manhattan  to  dislodge 
the  intruders.  The  troops  approached  the  English  "  in  a 
warlike  manner,  with  colors  displayed."  But  "  seeing  them 
strengthened,"  and  that  "  it  would  cost  blood  "  to  make  an 
attack,  the  Dutch  commander " came  to  a  parley"  instead. 
Then  he  withdrew  his  force  "without  offering  any  vio- 
lence"; and  the  Plymoutheans  were  left  in  peace. 


Ill 

The  Pioneer  River  Settlements 

Puritans  from  the  Bay  Colony  Entering  in  1635  —  Beginnings  of  Wethersfield 
and  Windsor  —  Intnision  on  the  Plymouth  Meadows  —  Governor  Brad- 
ford's Ineffectual  Protest  —  The  Dream  of  a  "  New  Plymouth  "  Dispelled  — 
John  "Winthrop,  the  Younger,  Governor  for  the  "Lords  and  Gentlemen  " — 
Lodgment  at  the  River's  Mouth  —  Coming  of  Hooker  and  his  Congregation 
in  1636  —  The  Old  Connecticut  Path,  The  Second  Connecticut  Trail,  and 
the  Bay  Path  as  traced  to-day  —  Beginnings  of  Hartford  and  Springfield  — 
Secession  of  River  Tovnis. 

THE  year  1635  was  a  year  of  events  in  the  Lower 
Valley.  Now  the  Bay  Puritans  began  to  appear  in 
considerable  numbers.  First  came  prospectors  seeking 
the  sightliest  spots  for  plantation.  By  July  the  agent  at 
the  Plymouth  Trading  House,  Jonathan  Brewster,  report- 
ed that  Massachusetts  men  were  "coming  almost  daily, 
some  by  water  and  some  by  land."  Following  the  pros- 
pectors, groups  and  companies  prepared  to  settle  arrived. 

Earliest  among  these  were  folk  from  Watertown  and 
Dorchester,  with  a  few  from  Cambridge,  then  New  Towne. 
Early  in  November  a  band  of  sixty  arrived,  men,  women 
and  little  children.  They  had  travelled  overland  by  a 
compass,  a  hundred  miles  through  the  wilderness,  making 
the  autumn  journey  of  two  weeks  on  foot  and  driving  their 
live-stock,  cattle,  horses,  and  swine,  before  them.  Around 
by  water  their  household  goods  were  brought,  in  barks  from 
Boston,  with  provisions  for  the  first  winter. 

Before  the  winter  had  set  in  three  English  plantations 
were  established,  and  a  fourth  had  been  ventured,  where 

24 


The  Pioneer  River  Settlements  25 

but  one  had  been  at  break  of  summer.  Below  the  Dutch 
"House  of  Hope"  a  new  Watertown  had  been  begun  by 
the  Watertown  group  where  now  is  Wethersfield.  Above 
the  Dutchmen,  at  Windsor,  were  the  Plymouth  folk  and  the 
settlers  from  Dorchester  cheek  by  jowl.  On  the  Plymouth 
Great  Meadow  the  Dorchester  leaders  were  beginning  a  new 
Dorchester,  ignoring  the  Pilgrims'  claims  to  the  territory, 
just  as  the  Plymouth  men  had  ignored  the  claims  of  the 
Dutch.  Unmindful  of  protest,  they  were  proposing  to  allow 
the  Pl3rmouth  House  one  share  only  "  as  to  a  single  family  " 
in  the  distribution  of  lands.  On  the  same  Great  Meadow 
the  fourth  plantation  had  been  attempted  as  a  foothold 
under  the  ''Lords  and  Gentlemen's"  patent.  This  was  an 
undertaking  of  the  "  Stiles  party,"  sent  out  from  England 
by  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  at  his  personal  expense.  They 
were  a  band  of  twenty  men,  one  or  two  accompanied  by 
their  families.  Francis  Stiles,  their  leader,  was  a  master 
carpenter  from  London.  He  had  been  instructed  to  "  im- 
pale" grounds  for  cattle,  and  to  prepare  a  house  against 
the  coming  of  Sir  Richard,  who  never  came.  The  Dorches- 
ter prospectors,  returning  from  a  view  of  lands  farther  up 
the  River  toward  Enfield  Rapids,  and  finding  them  here 
about  to  begin  their  work,  nipped  the  scheme  in  the  bud. 
Saltonstall' s  right  in  the  premises  vv^as  denied,  and  Stiles 
curtly  ordered  to  "  keep  hands  off."  So  Stiles  prudently 
''stayed  his  hands,"  and  reported  back  to  Sir  Richard.  A 
small  part  of  his  company  returned  to  England  in  his  ves- 
sel, which  was  wrecked  on  the  voyage,  but  her  passengers 
were  saved.  He  and  the  others  who  remained  took  up 
lands  assigned  them  in  a  corner  of  the  Dorchester  bailiwick. 
Brewster  promptly  reported  home  to  Plymouth  the 
intrusion  of  the  Dorchester  men,  and  Governor  Bradford  as 
promptly  entered  his  protest  against  these  "doings  and 


26  Connecticut  River 

proceedings."  '  They  were  not  only  intrusions  into  the 
"  riglits  and  possessions  "  of  the  Plymouth  Colony,  he  con- 
tended, but  were  attempts  "  in  effect  to  thrust  them  all 
out";  as  it  ultimately  proved.  Brewster  early  " perceived 
the  minds"  of  the  intruders  from  their  servants'  talk,  but 
treated  them  from  the  beginning  considerately.  The  first 
lot  of  prospectors  "had  well  nigh  starved  had  it  not  been 
for  this  house  for  want  of  victuals,"  he  wrote  in  one  of  his 
reports.  A  later  company  he  had  entertained  with  marked 
hospitality.  He  had  supplied  them  with  canoes  and  guides, 
and  had  given  room  to  their  goods  in  the  Plymouth  House. 
He  had  even  been  so  generous  as  to  go  with  them  to  the 
Dutch  fort,  notwithstanding  the  strained  relations  between 
the  two  houses,  to  see  if  he  could  "  procure  some  of  them 
to  have  quiet  settling"  in  its  vicinage.  The  Dutch  "did 
peremptorily  withstand  them  ":  quite  naturally,  we  should 
say,  under  the  circumstances.  Writing  before  the  arrival 
of  the  main  company,  Brewster  expressed  the  hope  that 
their  leaders  would  "  hear  reason,"  and  rehearsed  the  chief 
points  of  the  argument :  that  the  Pilgrims  were  here  first, 
that  they  had  entered  with  great  "  difficulty  and  danger 
both  in  regard  of  the  Dutch  and  Indians,"  that  they  had 
bought  the  land,  had  since  held  here  a  "  chargeable  posses- 
sion," and  had  kept  the  Dutch  from  further  encroaching, 
"  which  would  else  before  this  day  have  possessed  all  and 
kept  out  all  others."  These  considerations  he  trusted 
would  stop  them. 

But  they  did  not  even  check  them.  Winslow  went  up 
from  Plymouth  to  Boston  and  there  had  a  conference  with 
the  Dorchester  leaders  without  avail.  Negotiations  with 
the  Bay  magistrates  were  also  fruitless.  "  Many  were  the 
letters  and  passages"  that  followed,  says  Bradford,  between 
the  aggrieved  and  the  aggressors.     His  summary  of  the 


The  Pioneer  River  Settlements  27 

correspondence,  disclosing  on  the  one  side  a  curious  mixture 
of  piety  and  greed,  is  interesting  reading. 

The  Dorchester  men  started  out  with  the  assumption  of 
title  to  the  lands  they  coveted  through  an  act  of  Provi- 
dence. "  God  in  his  providence,"  they  wrote,  cast  them  on 
this  identical  spot,  "  and,  as  we  conceive,  in  a  fair  way  of 
providence,  tendered  it  to  us  as  a  meet  place  to  receive  our 
body  now  upon  removal."  The  Plymouth  men  met  this 
sophistry  with  the  blunt  retort :  "  Whereas  you  say  God  in 
his  providence  cast  you  &c.,  we  told  you  before  and  (upon 
this  occasion)  must  now  tell  you  still  that  our  mind  is 
otherwise,  and  that  you  cast  rather  a  partial,  if  not  a  covet- 
ous eye  upon  that  which  is  your  neighbors  and  not  yours ; 
and  in  so  doing  your  way  could  not  be  fair  unto  it.  Look 
that  you  abuse  not  God's  providence  in  such  allegations." 
At  this  the  Dorchester  men  took  another  tack :  "  Now, 
albeit  we  at  first  judged  the  place  so  free  that  we  might 
with  God's  good  leave  take  and  use  it,  without  just  offence 
to  any  man,  it  being  the  Lord's  waste,  and  for  the  present 
altogether  void  of  inhabitants,  that  indeed,  minded  [of]  the 
employment  thereof  to  the  right  end  for  which  land  was 
created,  Gen.  1:  28,  .  .  .  therefore  did  we  make  some 
weak  beginnings  in  that  good  work  in  the  place  aforesaid." 
This  reasoning  the  Plymouth  men  easily  overset  with  the 
reply :  "  K  it  was  the  Lord's  waste  it  was  themselves  [the 
Plymouth  men]  that  found  it  so  and  not  they  [the  Dorches- 
ter men];  and  have  since  bought  it  of  the  right  owners  and 
maintained  a  chargeable  possession  upon  it  all  this  while, 
as  themselves  could  not  but  know.  And  because  of  present 
engagements  and  other  hindrances  which  lay  at  present 
upon  them  [the  Plymouth  Colony]  must  it  therefore  be 
lawful  for  them  [the  Dorchester  men]  to  go  and  take  it 
from  them?"     The  hope  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  to  leave 


28  Connecticut  River 

the  "  barren  place  where  they  were  by  necessity  cast,"  and 
make  a  new  Plymouth  in  Connecticut  is  then  frankly 
stated,  and  it  is  pertinently  asked,  "  Why  should  they  [the 
Dorchester  men]  (because  they  were  more  ready  and  able 
at  present)  go  and  deprive  them  [the  Plymouth  folk]  of  that 
which  they  had  with  charge  and  hazard  provided  and  in- 
tended to  remove  to?" 

That  the  Plymouth  men  had  the  best  of  the  argument 
must  be  admitted ;  but  the  Dorchester  men  had  the  power. 
So  the  old  familiar  story  was  repeated,  as  it  is  still  repeated 
over  and  over  in  our  modern  days,  in  which  Might,  with 
many  pious  reflections  and  pratings  of  high  intentions, 
overthrows  Right  and  struts  off  proudly  locking  arms  with 
Virtue.  The  Plymouth  men  would  make  no  forcible  resist- 
ance. That  was  "  far  from  their  thoughts :  to  live  in  contin- 
ual contention  with  their  friends  and  brethren  would  be  un- 
comfortable, and  too  heavy  a  burden  to  bear."  Accordingly, 
for  the  sake  of  peace,  "  though  they  conceived  they  suffered 
much  in  this  thing,"  they  finally  concluded  to  give  up  the 
contest  and  to  enter  into  treaty  as  to  terms  for  the  release 
of  the  territory  seized.  Before  undertaking  to  bargain, 
however,  they  insisted  that  the  Dorchester  men  must  ac- 
knowledge their  right  to  the  territory,  else  "they  would 
never  treat  about  it."  This  easy  point  being  freely  yielded, 
with  the  abandonment  of  the  providential  title  to  the  lands 
as  "God's  waste,"  a  conclusion  was  reached  "after  much 
ado."  The  Plymouth  House  was  to  be  retained  by  the  Ply- 
mouth men  with  a  sixteenth  part  of  all  the  territory  that 
they  had  bought  from  the  Indians :  the  Dorchester  men  to 
have  the  remainder,  reserving  a  moiety  for  "  those  of  New 
Town  "  who  were  coming  in,  and  paying  Plymouth  "accord- 
ing to  proportion  what  had  been  disbursed  to  the  Indians." 

Thus,  Bradford  recorded,  "  was  the  controversy  ended. 


The  Pioneer  River  Settlements  29 

but  the  unkindness  not  so  soon  forgotten."  The  dream  of 
an  ultimate  abandonment  of  their  "barren  place"  on  the 
Massachusetts  coast  for  a  second  New  Plymouth  in  the 
sweet  and  fertile  region  of  the  Connecticut  was  forever 
dispelled  from  the  Pilgrim  mind.  The  hurt  was  slow  in 
healing.  When  later  two  shallops  bound  from  Massachu- 
setts to  the  River  with  goods  and  supplies  for  the  settlers 
were  wrecked  on  the  Plymouth  shore,  one  after  the  other, 
and  their  cargoes  in  each  case  strewn  along  the  beaches, 
were  carefully  gathered  and  preserved  for  their  owners  by 
the  kindly  Plymouth  folk,  the  good  Bradford  wrote  down 
in  his  history :  "  Such  crosses  they  met  in  their  beginnings ; 
which  some  imputed  as  a  correction  from  God  for  their 
intrusion  (to  the  wrong  of  others)  into  the  place.  But  I 
dare  not  be  bold  with  God's  judgment  in  this  kind." 

While  these  settlements  were  becoming  established  up 
the  River  on  either  side  of  the  Dutch  post,  steps  were  tak- 
ing by  stronger  agents  than  Stiles  of  the  '"  Lords  and  Gen- 
tlemen "  to  secure  the  River's  mouth.  On  the  6th  of 
October,  1635,  there  arrived  at  Boston  the  ship  "Abigail" 
from  England,  bringing  among  her  passengers  three  men 
of  note  representing  directly  or  indirectly  the  "  Lords  and 
Gentlemen."  These  were  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  Governor 
Winthrop's  eldest  and  ablest  son,  who  had  been  back  in 
England  for  a  twelvemonth ;  young  Sir  Harry  Vane ;  and 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Peter.  The  latter  had  joined  the  younger 
Winthrop  and  Sir  Harry  by  boarding  the  ship  in  the 
Downs,  after  an  escape  from  Holland,  where,  as  the  non- 
conforming minister  of  the  English  church  at  Rotterdam, 
he  was  being  persecuted  by  the  English  ambassador.  The 
younger  Winthrop  bore  a  commission  from  the  "  Lords  and 
Gentlemen,"  dated  July  15,  naming  him  as  "  governor  of 


30  Connecticut  River 

the  River  Connecticut  with  the  places  adjoining  thereunto, 
for  and  during  the  space  of  one  whole  year  after  arrival 
there,'"  with  "  full  power  to  do  and  execute  any  such  lawful 
act  and  thing  ...  as  to  the  dignity  or  office  of  a  governor 
doth  or  may  appertain."  By  preliminary  articles  he  en- 
gaged to  repair  to  the  River  with  "  all  convenient  speed," 
and  to  abide  there  "  for  the  best  advancement  of  the  com- 
pany's service." 

This  governor's  first  duty  was  to  engage,  upon  his 
arrival  at  Massachusetts  Bay,  a  force  of  at  least  fifty  "  able 
men,"  and  to  despatch  them  to  erect  a  fortification  at  the 
River's  entrance  and  to  build  houses.  The  first  houses 
were  to  be  for  their  own  needs.  After  these  were  up  more 
substantial  ones  were  to  be  erected  within  the  fort,  proper 
"to  receive  men  of  quality"  who  were  expected  later  to 
come  out  and  make  a  noble  plantation;  but  who  never 
came.  Winthrop  the  younger  was  provided  with  four 
hundred  pounds  to  meet  first  expenses ;  and  a  few  men  and 
some  ammunition  for  his  service  came  out  in  the  "  Abi- 
gail "  with  him.  Haste  being  necessary  because  of  reported 
intentions  of  the  Dutch,  he  did  not  wait  to  gather  the  full 
complement  of  fifty  men,  but  hurried  off  a  force  of  twenty, 
under  one  Lieutenant  Gibbons  and  Sergeant  Willard,  to 
occupy  Say  brook  Point  and  begin  the  works.  Four  days 
later  a  "  norsey  "  —  a  North  Sea  bark  —  arrived  at  Boston 
bringing  Lieutenant  Lion  Gardiner  with  a  dozen  men  and 
"  provisions  of  all  sorts  "  for  building  a  fortification.  Lion 
Gardiner  was  a  Scotchman,  an  accomplished  engineer  and 
master  of  fortification,  who  had  been  with  the  Prince  of 
Orange  in  the  Low  Countries.  At  Rotterdam,  "  through 
the  persuasion  of  Mr.  John  Davenport  [afterward  founder 
of  New  Haven],  Mr.  Hugh  Peter  and  other  well  affected 
Englishmen,"  he  had  made  an  agreement  with  Mr.  Peter 


The  Pioneer  River  Settlements  31 

to  enter  the  '"  Lords  and  Gentlemen's  "  service  for  a  hun- 
dred pounds  per  annum ;  and  he  had  been  despatched  in 
the  "  norsey  "  just  after  Winthrop  the  younger  had  sailed. 
The  energetic  soldier  tarried  in  Boston  only  long  enough 
to  report  to  the  company's  governor.  Arriving  at  Say- 
brook  Point  he  proceeded  at  once  to  plan  and  erect  the 
English  fort,  taking  for  its  site  the  spot  where  two  years 
before  Hans  den  Sluys  had  affixed  the  Dutch  arms  to  a 
tree.  In  March  of  the  following  spring,  Winthrop  the 
younger  himself  arrived,  and  the  formal  occupation  was 
completed. 

At  these  strenuous  proceedings  above  and  below  their 
post  the  Dutchmen  were  looking  out  doubtless  with  aston- 
ished eyes  and  flushed  faces.  While  the  Saybrook  fort  was 
building  an  attempt  was  made  to  dislodge  the  English,  but 
it  met  inglorious  failure.  The  ship  sent  out  from  Manhat- 
tan for  this  purpose  found  two  pieces  of  cannon  already 
mounted  on  the  unfinished  structure  and  ready  for  action. 
Confronted  by  these  guns,  the  Dutch  craft,  without  a  dem- 
onstration, tacked  about  and  silently  sailed  back  whence 
she  came. 

Coincident  with  the  beginnings  at  Saybrook  Point,  Sir 
Harry  Vane,  the  younger  Wintln-op,  and  Hugh  Peter  were 
at  Boston  treating  with  the  Bay  Colony  men,  principally 
the  Dorchester  leaders,  who  were  moving  upon  the  River, 
in  an  endeavor  to  come  to  a  mutual  understanding.  Their 
demands  were  made  with  studied  courtesy,  for  they  were 
evidently  desirous  not  to  antagonize  the  new  settlements. 
They  asked  that  the  planters  should  either  entirely  give 
place  to  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen  upon  full  satisfaction  for 
their  outlay,  or  make  sufficient  room  for  the  patentees. 
Putting  these  demands  in  writing  they  addressed  them  to 
"Our  Loving  and  most  respected  Friends  .  .  .  engaged  in 


32  Connecticut  River 

the  business  of  Connecticut  Plantation."  They  called  for 
"punctual  and  plain  answers "  to  these  direct  queries :  " (1) 
Whether  they  do  acknowledge  the  right  and  claims  of  the 
said  persons  of  quality,  and  in  testimony  thereof  will  and 
do  submit  to  the  counsel  and  direction  of  their  present 
governor,  Mr.  John  Winthrop,  the  younger,  established  by 
commission  from  them  to  those  parts.  (2)  Under  what 
right  and  pretense  they  have  lately  taken  up  their  plan- 
tations within  the  precinct  before  mentioned,  and  what 
government  they  intend  to  live  under,  because  the  said 
country  is  out  of  the  Massachusetts  patent."  "  Our  truly 
respected  brethren"  were  desired  to  take  these  propositions 
into  their  "  serious  and  Christian  consideration,"  that  their 
"loving  resolutions"  might  promptly  be  returned  to 
England. 

Their  "loving  resolutions"  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
forthcoming  in  documentary  form.  Nor  is  there  record 
of  any  dh-ect  replies,  formal  or  otherwise,  to  these  definite 
queries.  Perhaps  they  were  adroitly  evaded  if  not  deliber- 
ately ignored.  At  all  events  the  settlers  went  on  as  before, 
continuing  their  allegiance  for  the  time  to  the  Bay  Colony 
government.  In  February,  1635-6,  came  Saltonstall's  pro- 
test from  England  against  the  treatment  of  his  Stiles  party 
at  Windsor,  and  this  also  was  without  result.  The  protest 
was  couched  with  the  same  carefulness  that  characterized 
the  demands  of  the  company's  representatives  in  Boston. 
It  was  conveyed  in  a  letter  to  "  good  Mr.  Winthrop,"  the 
younger,  rather  than  as  an  official  communication,  lest  it 
should  "breed  some  jealousies  in  the  people  and  so  distaste 
them  with  our  government."  A  desire  to  cultivate  the  new 
settlements  as  a  nucleus  of  their  proposed  colony  is  evident 
in  all  the  moves  of  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen.  After  the 
receipt  of  Saltonstall's  letter,  Winthrop  the  younger  went 


The  Pioneer  River  Settlements  33 

up  to  Windsor  and  endeavored  unsuccessfully  to  adjust  the 
differences.  As  Sir  Richard  had  written,  the  Dorchester 
folk  had  "  carved  largely  for  themselves,"  and  it  was  plain 
that  they  meant  to  hold  what  they  had  carved  against  all 
comers. 

It  was  fortunate  for  them,  however,  and  also  for  the 
other  scattered  colonists,  that  the  agents  of  the  Lords  and 
Gentlemen  had  stai-ted  in  thus  early.  For  the  first  winter 
was  a  cruel  one  and  the  Saybrook  fortress  was  a  veritable 
house  of  refuge  for  many  of  the  settlers.  As  early  as  the 
fifteenth  of  November  the  River  was  frozen  over,  and  soon 
heavy  snows  came.  The  late  autumn  arrivals,  some  from 
Cambridge,  but  the  most  from  Dorchester,  had  not  com- 
pleted their  huts  and  the  shelters  for  their  live  stock  when 
severe  weather  was  upon  them.  Some  of  the  cattle  could 
not  be  got  across  the  River,  and  were  left  to  subsist  with- 
out hay  in  the  woods  then  on  the  east  side.  Provisions 
early  became  scarce  in  the  settlements.  The  ships  which 
had  started  with  supplies  from  Boston  were  either  wrecked 
or  held  back  by  tempestuous  storms.  So  forlorn  and 
wretched  became  their  condition  that  several  bands  at- 
tempted the  perilous  journey  back  to  Massachusetts  Bay. 
A  party  of  six  who  sailed  for  Boston  about  the  middle  of 
November  were  wrecked  off  the  coast  near  Plymouth.  Mak- 
ing the  shore  they  wandered  for  ten  days  in  the  wastes  of 
snow.  At  length,  "spent  with  cold  and  fatigue,"  they 
reached  Plymouth,  where  the  kind  Pilgrims  gave  them  suc- 
cor. Another,  a  party  of  thirteen  (ominous  number!), 
made  their  way  back  overland.  One  of  this  party  was 
drowned  in  attempting  to  cross  a  frozen  stream.  The  others 
got  through  after  a  painful  journey  of  ten  days.  But  all 
would  have  perished  had  not  friendly  Indians  given  them 


34  Connecticut  River 

food  and  shelter  along  the  trail.  By  early  December  a  com- 
pany of  seventy,  women  and  children  among  them,  came 
down  the  River  in  the  desperate  hope  of  meeting  their 
delayed  provision-ship.  About  twenty  miles  above  the 
mouth  they  came  upon  the  *'  Rebecca,"  a  ship  of  sixty  tons, 
frozen  in  the  ice,  and  embarked  on  her.  Soon  afterward  a 
warm  rain  fell  which  broke  the  ice  and  let  the  ship  loose. 
She  set  sail  with  her  passengers  and  proceeded  as  far  as  the 
bar,  where  she  stuck  and  had  to  be  unladen.  The  half- 
starved  colonists  were  received  into  Saybrook  fort  and  fed 
and  comforted.  At  length  the  ship  was  afloat  and  reloaded ; 
and  again  setting  sail  she  finally  reached  Boston  in  safety. 
Of  those  who  remained  in  the  up  River  settlements  many 
were  obliged  to  live  on  acorns,  malt,  and  grain  through  the 
winter. 

With  the  advance  of  spring,  however,  the  hardships  of 
the  winter  were  forgotten.  As  the  summer  opened,  when 
all  was  again  fair  and  blooming  in  the  genial  Valley,  immi- 
gration was  renewed  with  greater  vigor.  Many  of  the 
disheartened  colonists  of  the  winter  returned.  Then  came 
larger  bands  and  more  important  personages  from  the  Ba}^ 
Colony.  On  the  last  day  of  radiant  June,  Thomas  Hooker 
and  his  congregation  of  a  himdred  started  out  from  Cam- 
bridge (still  New  Town),  almost  depopulating  that  village 
when  they  left.  Theirs  was  the  pilgrimage  through  the 
wilderness  which  Trumbull,  Palfrey,  Bancroft  and  the  rest 
have  depicted  in  their  familiar  passages, —  all  drawn  from 
the  same  source, —  the  record  in  the  elder  Winthrop's  Jour- 
nal, simple,  yet  effective,  and  furnishing  full  outline  for 
the  pictiu-e :  — 

"t/wne  30,  1636.  Mr.  Hooker,  paster  of  the  church  of  New 
Town  and  the  [most]  of  his  congregation,  went  to  Connecticut. 
His  wife  was  carried  in  a  horse-litter ;  and  they  drove  one  hundred 
and  sixty  cattle,  and  fed  of  their  milk  by  the  way." 


The  Pioneer  River  Settlements  35 

They  were  a  goodly  company  of  fine  English  stock, 
splendid  material  for  colonization.  Many  of  them  were 
''  persons  of  figure  who  had  lived  in  England  in  honor, 
affluence,  and  delicacy,  and  were  entire  strangers  to  fatigue 
and  danger."  Yet  '"  the  people  generally  carried  their 
packs,  arms,  and  some  utensils,"  with  the  cheerful  spirit  of 
the  true  pioneer.  With  Hooker  as  leader  was  Samuel 
Stone,  his  worthy  associate  pastor,  or  the  "  teacher  "  of  the 
chmrch.  A  fortnight  was  consumed  in  their  toilsome  jour- 
ney of  more  than  a  hundred  miles.  The  way  lay  along  the 
Indian  trail  "  over  mountains,  through  swamps  and  thick- 
ets," and  across  rivers  "  which  were  not  passable  save  with 
great  difficulty." 

This  was  the  Old  Connecticut  Path,  first  made  known 
to  the  Bay  Colonists  by  Indians  bringing  corn  from  the 
Connecticut  Valley  to  Boston.  It  was  the  same  that  the 
first  pioneer,  John  Oldham,  had  travelled,  that  the  Water- 
town  band  and  the  Dorchester  company  had  followed. 
We  can  trace  it  to-day  through  populous  cities  and  towns 
and  rural  villages.  We  may  travel  parts  of  it  in  the 
sumptuous  drawing-room  car  over  the  smooth  tracks  of  the 
modem  railroad ;  parts  by  trolley  lines  on  highways  and 
by-ways ;  and  the  greater  part  by  automobile,  or  in  the 
more  pleasurable  carriage  with  the  companionship  of  horses. 
Starting  from  Cambridge,  it  followed  the  northerly  bank 
of  the  Charles  River  to  the  centre  of  Waltham ;  thence 
passed  through  Weston  to  South  Framingham  ;  thence  ran 
southwesterly  to  Hopkinton ;  then  westerly  to  Grafton ; 
southerly  to  Dudley ;  across  the  Connecticut  state  line  to 
Woodstock,  and  so  on,  southwesterly,  through  the  wilder- 
ness where  now  are  clusters  of  Connecticut  towns,  to  the 
River's  east  bank  opposite  Hartford.  It  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  the  historic  Bay  Path,  or  with  the  second 


36  Connecticut  River 

Connecticut  Trail.  The  latter  was  found  some  years  later. 
Winthrop  notes  it  in  his  Journal  in  1648  as  avoiding  much 
of  the  hill  way.  It  was  an  upper  trail  lying  all  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Starting  from  Cambridge  or  Watertown  by  the 
Charles  River,  it  left  the  Old  Connecticut  Path  at  Weston, 
and  ran  through  Sudbury  Centre  and  Stowe  to  Lancaster, 
thence  through  Princeton,  the  south  part  of  Barre  and  the 
north  part  of  New  Braintree  to  West  Brookfield,  and  thence 
through  Warren  and  Brimfield  to  Springfield,  —  traversed 
now  in  small  parts  by  the  Massachusetts  Central,  the  old 
Boston  and  Fitchburg,  and  the  Boston  and  Albany  Rail- 
roads, as  a  good  railroad  map  of  Massachusetts  will  show. 
This  trail  came  early  to  be  called  the  Bay  Path.  But  the 
colonial  highway  thus  officially  designated  was  not  marked 
out  till  a  quarter  of  a  century  afterward  —  in  1673.  It 
began  at  Watertown  and  ran  through  South  Framingham, 
Marlborough,  and  Lancaster  to  Brookfield,  where  it  struck 
the  old  trail  to  Springfield.  Three  years  before  the  elder 
Winthrop  makes  note  of  the  second  Connecticut  Trail, 
Winthrop  the  younger  had  travelled  most  of  the  course  of 
the  Bay  Path  beyond  Sudbury.  His  was  a  winter's  journey 
in  1645  from  Boston  to  Springfield,  Hartford,  Saybrook 
and  New  London,  and  he  was  accompanied  only  by  a  ser- 
vant. 

The  Hookerites,  planting  themselves  close  by  the  Dutch 
fort  where  the  first  comers  from  Cambridge  were  settled, 
began  Hartford,  calling  it  at  first  Newtown.  A  month 
before  their  arrival  William  Pynchon,  founder  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Roxbury,  coming  overland  with  eight  compan- 
ions, had  occupied  the  "Agawam  meadows"  farther  up 
the  River,  and  begun  Springfield,  the  first  east-side  settle- 
ment. 


o 


^ 


The  Pioneer  River  Settlements  37 

Now,  or  by  the  close  of  1636,  the  English  plantations 
on  the  fertile  River  banks  numbered  five  (if  the  Plymouth 
Trading  House  and  the  Saybrook  military  seat  may  be 
counted),  and  embraced  an  English  population  approaching 
a  thousand  in  number.  The  Dutch  were  a  small  com- 
munity, narrowed  to  their  ''  House  of  Hope "  and  the 
"  bouwerie  "  about  it.  In  scarcely  more  than  two  years 
three  of  the  settlements  from  the  Bay  Colony  —  Hartford, 
Windsor,  and  Wethersfield,  —  had  seceded  from  Massachu- 
setts, and  had  established  the  first  genuine  democracy  in 
America. 


IV 

A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History. 

The  Political  Motive  that  Inspired  the  dispersion  from  the  Bay  Colony  to  the 
Valley  —  Democracy  versus  Theocracy  —  Thomas  Hooker  and  John  Cotton, 
Spokesmen  for  the  Differing  Parties  —  The  Hookerites'  Petition  in  the  Bay 
General  Court  —  Winthrop's  Report  of  the  Unrecorded  Proceedings —  Al- 
leged and  Real  Reasons  for  Removal  —  Provisional  Government  for  the 
Valley  Plantations  —  The  Independent  Establishment  —  Hooker's  epoch- 
making  Sermon  —  The  first  Written  Constitution  —  "  True  Birth  of  Amer- 
ican Democracy  "  —  Hooker's  Illuminating  Letter  :  a  Colonial  Classic. 

THE  story  of  the  remarkable  dispersion  from  the  infant 
Bay  Colony  to  the  Connecticut  Valley,  with  its  causes 
and  consequences,  has  come  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the 
most  significant  chapters  of  the  formative  period  of  Ameri- 
can history.  John  Fiske  counted  the  secession  of  the  three 
Connecticut  River  towns  an  event  "  no  less  memorable  than 
the  voyage  of  the  ^  Mayflower,'  or  the  arrival  of  Winthrop's 
great  colony  in  Massachusetts  Bay." 

The  story  has  been  variously  told,  the  versions  varying 
according  to  the  narrator's  point  of  view.  Fiske  restates 
with  cleanest  cut  directness  the  controlling  motive,  above 
the  commercial  one,  that  inspired  the  immigration.  This 
motive  arose  from  a  desire  of  the  minority  party  in  the 
Bay  Colony  to  secularize  and  broaden  the  political  power 
of  the  community,  which  power  the  majority  or  theocratic 
party  would  have  the  monopoly  of  the  few.  The  commer- 
cial aims  of  the  chief  founders  of  the  Bay  Colony  were  but 
"a  cloak  to  cover  the  purpose  they  had  most  at  heart." 
Says  Fiske : 

38 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History       39 

"  Their  purpose  was  to  found  a  theocratic  commonwealth,  like 
that  of  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  good  old  days  before  their  fro- 
ward  hearts  conceived  the  desire  for  a  king.  There  was  no  thought 
of  throwing  off  allegiance  to  the  British  crown ;  but  saving  such  alle- 
giance, their  purpose  was  to  build  up  a  theocratic  society  according 
to  their  own  notions.  ...  In  the  theocratic  state  which  these  leaders 
were  attempting  to  found,  one  of  the  corner-stones,  perhaps  the 
chiefest  corner-stone,  was  the  restriction  of  the  right  of  voting  and 
holding  civil  office  to  members  of  the  Congregational  Church  qualified 
for  participation  in  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  ruling  party  in  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  believed  that  this  restriction  was  necessary  in  order  to 
guard  against  hidden -foes  and  to  assure  sufficient  power  to  the 
clergy ;  but  there  were  some  who  felt  that  the  restriction  would  give 
to  the  clergy  more  power  than  was  likely  to  be  wisely  used,  and  that 
its  tendency  was  strictly  aristocratic.  The  minority  which  held 
these  democratic  views  was  more  strongly  represented  in  Dorchester, 
Watertown,  and  the  New  Towne  than  elsewhere.  Here,  too,  the 
jealousy  of  encroachments  upon  local  self-government  was  especially 
strong.  ...  It  is  also  a  significant  fact  that  in  1633  Watertown  and 
Dorchester  led  the  way  in  instituting  town  government  by  selectmen." 

Thomas  Hooker,  that  "  rich  pearl  which  Europe  gave 
to  America,"  and  John  Cotton,  "  the  father  and  glory  of 
Boston,"  perhaps,  as  Fiske  says,  the  two  most  powerful 
intellects  to  be  found  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  became  the 
chief  spokesmen  for  these  differing  parties. 

They  came  out  to  America  on  the  same  ship.  Hooker, 
slipping  off  from  Holland  and  avoiding  the  watchmen  of 
the  English  High  Court  of  Commission  who  would  stop 
him,  boarded  the  vessel  at  the  Downs.  Perhaps  their  dis- 
cussion of  the  great  principles  of  government  began  during 
the  long  summer  ^'oyage  of  seven  weeks.  Such  philosophic 
debates  may  have  constituted  their  sober  pastime,  in  the 
intervals  between  sermons  or  expositions,  —  three  a  day, 
morning,  afternoon,  and  in  the  twilight  after  supper,  — 
with  which  they  and  the  other  minister  aboard,  Samuel 


40  Connecticut  River 

Stone,  Hooker's  associate,  beguiled  the  two  hundred  pas- 
sengers. Maybe  John  Haynes,  a  conspicuous  figure  among 
the  company,  soon  to  become  governor  of  the  Bay  Colony, 
then  of  Connecticut,  may  have  had  part  in  these  discus- 
sions. The  ship  was  the  "  Griffin,"  that  "  noble  vessel  of 
three  hundred  tons  burthen,"  the  arrival  of  which  at  Boston 
in  September,  1633,  with  this  "  glorious  triumvirate  of 
ministers,"  and  the  choicest  freight  of  emigrants  since  the 
coming  of  Winthrop's  fleet,  so  cheered  the  colonists  here, 
and  "  made  them  to  say,"  as  Cotton  Mather,  the  erudite 
punster,  put  it  in  his  "Magnolia,"  that  "the  God  of 
Heaven  had  supplied  them  with  what  would  in  some 
sort  answer  their  three  great  necessities.  Cotton  for  their 
Clothing,  Hooker  for  their  Fishing,  and  Stone  for  their 
Building." 

Perhaps  Hooker  thus  early  in  the  controversy  intimated 
his  conviction,  which  afterward  at  Hartford  he  so  tersely 
expressed  in  that  memorable  phrase,  "the  foundation  of 
authority  is  laid  firstly  in  the  free  consent  of  the  people." 
And  Cotton  may  have  advanced  his  thesis,  later  laid  down 
in  his  letter  of  1636  to  Lord  Say  and  Sele,  "  Democracy  I 
do  not  conceive  that  ever  God  did  ordain  as  a  fit  govern- 
ment either  for  church  or  commonwealth.  If  the  people 
be  governors,  who  shall  be  the  governed  ?  "  However  this 
may  be,  these  great  minds  were  marshalled  against  each 
other  in  the  contentions  which  after  their  landing  almost 
immediately  arose.  But  it  was  most  decorously  conducted. 
It  was  a  gentlemanly  contest,  not  a  wrangle  between  poli- 
ticians for  ignoble  ends.  Both  were  animated  by  the  lof- 
tiest motives.  It  is  a  sorry  mistake  to  assume  that  there 
was  rivalry  between  them.  Their  souls  soared  above  all 
rivalries.  The  presumption  that  Hooker  coveted  the  pas- 
torate of  the  Boston  church  which  went  to  Cotton  is  far 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History       41 

from  the  mark.  His  congregation  was  already  here  before 
him,  awaiting  his  coming  at  Cambridge,  or  "•  New  Towne." 
When  he  landed  from  the  "  Griffin  "  they  "  crowded  about 
him  with  their  welcome,"  and  ''  with  open  arms  he  em- 
braced them,"  answering,  "  now  I  live  if  ye  stand  fast  in 
the  Lord." 

Hooker  and  Stone  had  been  settled  with  their  congre- 
gation at  "New  Towne  "  a  few  months  before  the  agitation 
for  removal  was  begun.  It  took  on  at  first  a  plea  for  more 
room  for  farms.  In  the  spring  of  1634  the  New  Towne 
folk  were  complaining  of  "  straitness,"  especially  for  want 
of  meadow.  In  May  the  General  Court  granted  them  leave 
to  seek  out  a  new  place  and  promised  to  confirm  it  to  them, 
provided  their  choice  were  not  prejudicial  to  a  plantation 
already  established.  Then  men  were  sent  out  by  them  to 
view  various  sites  in  regions  not  remote  from  Boston.  But 
it  was  soon  apparent  that  their  eyes  were  fixed  on  the 
banks  of  the  distant  Connecticut,  not  surely  within  the 
boimds  of  the  Massachusetts  patent.  In  July  they  des- 
patched a  party  of  six  on  Governor  Winthrop's  "  Blessing 
of  the  Bay,"  bound  for  Manhattan,  their  avowed  object 
being  "  to  discover  Connecticut  River,  intending  to  remove 
their  town  thither."  In  September  their  petition  for  leave 
to  make  this  removal  was  before  the  General  Court  at  a 
sitting  in  New  Towne. 

There  is  no  mention  of  this  matter  in  the  Court  records, 
notwithstanding  that  it  was  the  main  business  of  the  sitting 
and  occupied  several  days  in  debate ;  that  it  occasioned  an 
adjournment  of  the  court  for  "  a  day  of  humiliation,  to  seek 
the  Lord,"  the  assistants  and  deputies  being  divided  on  the 
vote,  the  magistrates  opposing,  and  the  deputies  favoring 
and  refusing  to  yield  to  the  magistrates ;  that  it  inspired  a 
great  sermon  from  John  Cotton  for  the  magistrates'  side  at 


42  Connecticut  Riv^er 

the  reopening  of  the  sitting ;  and  that  it  resulted  finally  in 
the  submission  of  the  deputies,  and  the  apparent  acquies- 
cence of  the  Hookerites  in  the  decision  against  them. 
Fortunately  Winthrop's  invaluable  Journal  supplies  the 
Court  reporter's  omission  with  a  succinct  account  of  the 
proceedings,  in  which  between  the  lines  we  read  the  real 
motives  of  the  petitioners,  and  the  recognition  of  them  by 
the  magistrates.     Many  reasons  were  alleged  pro  and  con  : 

"  The  principal  reasons  for  this  removal  were  :  (1)  Their  want  of 
accommodation  for  their  cattle,  so  as  they  were  not  able  to  maintain 
their  ministers,  nor  could  receive  any  more  of  their  friends  to  help 
them ;  and  here  it  was  alleged  by  Mr.  Hooker  as  a  f  imdamental  error 
that  towns  were  set  so  near  to  each  other.  (2)  The  fi'uitfulness  and 
commodiousness  of  Connecticut  and  the  danger  of  having  it  possessed 
by  others,  Dutch  or  English.  (3)  The  strong  bent  of  their  spirits  to 
•^remove  thither. 

"  Against  these  it  was  said  :  (1)  That  in  point  of  conscience  they 
ought  not  to  depart  from  us  being  knit  to  us  in  one  body  and  bound 
by  oath  to  seek  the  welfare  of  the  commonwealth.  (2)  That  in  point 
of  state  and  civil  policy  we  ought  not  to  give  them  leave  to  depart, 
—  i,  being  we  were  now  weak  and  in  danger  to  be  assailed ;  2^  the 
departure  of  Mr.  Hooker  would  not  only  draw  many  from  us,  but 
also  divert  other  friends  that  would  come  to  us ;  3,  we  should  ex- 
pose them  to  evident  peril  both  from  the  Dutch  (who  made  claim  to 
the  same  river  and  had  already  built  a  fort  there),  and  from  the  In- 
dians, and  also  from  our  own  state  at  home  who  could  not  endure 
they  should  sit  down  without  a  patent  in  any  place  which  our  King 
lays  claim  imto.  (3)  They  might  be  accommodated  at  home  by  some 
enlargement  which  other  towns  offered.  They  might  remove  to 
Merrimack  or  any  other  place  within  our  patent.  (4)  The  removing 
of  a  candlestick  is  a  great  judgment  which  is  to  be  avoided. 

"  Upon  these  and  other  arguments,  the  court  being  divided,  it 
was  put  to  vote  :  and  of  the  deputies,  fifteen  were  for  their  departure 
and  ten  against  it.  The  governor  and  two  assistants  were  for  it,  and 
the  deputy  [governor]  and  all  the  rest  of  the  assistants  were  against 
it  (except  the  secretary  who  gave  no  vote),  whereupon  no  record  was 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History      43 

entered,  because  there  were  not  six  assistants  in  the  vote,  as  the 
patent  requires.  Upon  this  grew  a  great  difference  between  the  gov- 
ernor and  assistants,  and  the  deputies.  They  would  not  yield  the 
assistants  a  negative  voice,  and  the  others  (considering  how  dangerous 
it  might  be  to  the  commonwealth  if  they  should  not  keep  their 
strength  to  balance  the  greater  number  of  the  deputies)  thought  it 
safe  to  stand  upon  it. 

"  So  when  they  could  proceed  no  farther,  the  whole  court  agreed 
to  keep  a  day  of  humiliation  to  seek  the  Lord,  which  accordingly 
was  done,  in  all  the  congregations,  the  18th  day  of  this  month  ;  and 
the  24th  the  court  again  met.  Before  they  began  Mr.  Cotton 
preached  (being  desired  by  all  the  court  upon  Mr.  Hooker's  instant 
excuse  of  his  unfitness  for  that  occasion).  He  took  his  text  out  of 
Hag.  ii,  4  etc.,  out  of  which  he^  laid  down  the  nature  and  strength 
(as  he  termed  it)  of  the  magistracy,  ministry,  and  people,  viz.  —  the 
strength  of  the  magistracy  to  be  their  authority ;  of  the  people,  their 
liberty ;  and  of  the  ministry,  their  purity ;  and  showed  how  all  of  these 
had  a  negative  voice  etc.,  and  that  yet  the  ultimate  resolution  etc. 
ought  to  be  in  the  whole  body  of  the  people  etc.  with  answer  to  all 
objections,  and  a  declaration  of  the  people's  duty  and  right  to  main- 
tain their  true  Uberties  against  any  unjust  violence  etc.,  which  gave 
great  satisfaction  to  the  company. 

"  And  it  pleased  the  Lord  so  to  assist  him,  and  to  bless  his  own 
ordinance,  that  the  affairs  of  the  court  went  on  cheerfully ;  and  al- 
though all  were  not  satisfied  about  the  negative  voice  to  be  left  to 
the  magistrates,  yet  no  man  moved  aught  about  it,  and  the  congre- 
gation of  New  Towne  came  and  accepted  of  such  enlargement  as  had 
formerly  been  offered  them  by  Boston  and  Waltham ;  and  so  the 
fear  of  their  removal  to  Connecticut  was  removed." 

The  governor  this  year  was  Thomas  Dudley,  Winthrop 
serving  as  assistant  in  company  with  Hooker's  friend,  John 
Haynes,  William  Pynchon  of  Roxbury,  and  the  younger 
John  Winthrop.  Simon  Bradstreet  was  the  secretary,  who 
withheld  his  vote.  These  constituted  the  magistrates. 
Haynes  and  Pynchon  were  presumably  the  two  assistants 
who  voted  with  the  governor  for  the  petition.     Ludlow, 


44  Connecticut  River 

the  deputy  governor,  is  supposed  to  have  led  the  opposing 
vote  of  the  magistrates. 

Over  the  reasons  alleged  for  removal  in  place  of  the 
weighty  ones  held  back,  John  Fiske  makes  merry.  The 
men  who  put  forward  the  plea  that  they  hadn't  room 
enough  to  pasture  their  cattle,  "must  have  had  to  hold 
their  sides  to  keep  from  bursting  with  laughter!"  he  ex- 
claims. "  Not  room  enough  in  Cambridge  for  five  hundred 
people  to  feed  their  cattle  !  Why  then  did  they  not  simply 
send  a  swarm  into  the  adjacent  territory  —  into  what  was 
by  and  by  to  be  parcelled  out  as  Lexington  and  Concord 
and  Acton  ?  Why  flit  a  hundred  miles  through  the  wil- 
derness and  seek  an  isolated  position  open  to  attack  from 
every  quarter?" 

The  expression  of  the  "  strong  bent  of  their  spirits  to 
move  thither,"  with  their  practical  appreciation  of  the 
"  fruitfulness  and  the  commodiousness  "  of  the  River  coun- 
try, more  nearly  than  the  other  pretexts  voiced  the  real 
reasons. 

By  the  following  summer  (1635)  the  aspect  of  affaks 
had  changed,  and  it  soon  had  to  be  acknowledged  that  the 
Connecticut  move  was  inevitable,  although  the  light-giving 
"  candlestick "  had  not  yet  joined  the  exodus.  At  the 
May  election,  also  held  at  New  Towne,  John  Haynes  of  the 
secular  party  was  chosen  governor,  with  the  two  Winthrops, 
Dudley,  Pynchon,  and  Bradstreet  among  the  assistants. 
Immediately,  at  the  same  sitting  of  the  General  Court, 
orders  were  adopted  granting  liberty  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Roxbury  and  Watertown  to  remove  themselves  "to  any 
place  they  shall  think  meet,"  not  prejudicial  to  any  existing 
plantation ;  with  the  proviso,  however,  that  they  continue 
still  under  the  Bay  government.  At  the  next  sitting,  in 
June,  similar  leave  was  granted  to  the  Dorchester  folk. 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History       45 

Roger  Ludlow  had  now  become  as  ardent  for  removal  as 
he  had  been  against  it,  and  he  headed  the  Dorchester  emi- 
gration, as  we  have  seen.  His  abrupt  change  of  attitude 
was  brought  about,  it  is  assumed,  through  his  loss  of  the 
governorship  in  the  May  election,  to  which  as  deputy  he 
was  in  the  direct  line.  From  this  moment  he  was  a  power- 
ful Connecticut  leader,  and  became  a  foremost  figure  in  the 
infant  colony  on  the  River  banks. 

With  the  order  giving  the  Dorchester  people  leave  to 
go  cognizance  was  taken  of  the  Massachusetts  jurisdiction 
over  the  River  country.  This  appears  in  a  grant  of  three 
pieces  (cannon)  to  the  communities  removing  "  to  fortify 
themselves  withal." 

At  the  court's  September  sitting  the  first  step  for  gov- 
ernment on  the  River  was  taken  through  an  order  empower- 
ing any  Bay  magistrate  to  swear  a  constable  for  any  River 
plantation.  At  the  same  time  further  provision  for  defence 
was  made.  It  was  ordered  that  two  drakes  and  powder 
and  shot  be  loaned  the  settlers  from  the  stock  of  the  towns 
from  which  the  emigration  was  making.  Finally,  in  the 
following  March  (1636)  the  court  provided  a  provisional 
government  for  the  plantations. 

This  was  a  government  by  commission ;  the  commis- 
sioners named  to  "govern  the  people  of  Connecticut  for 
the  space  of  a  year  now  next  coming."  In  the  "exempli- 
fication "  of  this  instrument  we  see  how  intimately  the  Bay 
men  associated  themselves  in  the  business  with  the  Lords 
and  Gentlemen,  and  endeavored  to  guard  their  assumed 
interests  in  the  River : 

"  Whereas,  upon  some  reason  and  grounds  there  are  to  remove 
from  this  our  commonwealth  and  body  of  the  Massachusetts  in 
America,  divers  of  our  loving  friends,  neighbours,  freemen,  and  mem- 
bers of  New  Towne,  Dorchester,  Watertown,  and  other  places,  who 


46  Connecticut  River 

are  resolved  to  transplant  themselves  and  their  estates  unto  the 
River  of  Connecticut,  there  to  reside  and  inhabit,  and  to  this  end 
divers  are  there  already,  and  divers  others  shortly  to  go,  we,  in  this 
present  Court  assembled,  on  the  behalf  of  our  said  members,  and 
John  Winthrop  Jun.r  Esq.r,  Governor,  appointed  by  certain  noble 
personages  and  men  of  quality  interested  in  the  said  river,  which 
[sic]  are  yet  in  England,  on  their  behalf,  have  had  a  serious  consid- 
eration there[on],  and  think  it  meet  that  where  there  are  a  people  to 
nit  down  and  cohabit  there  will  follow,  upon  occasion,  some  cause  of 
difference,  as  also  divers  misdemeanors,  which  will  require  a  speedy 
address  ;  and  in  regard  of  the  distance  of  the  place  this  state  and  gov- 
ernment cannot  take  notice  of  the  same  as  to  apply  timely  remedy,  or 
to  dispense  equal  justice  to  them  and  their  affairs  as  may  be  desired  ; 
and  in  regard  the  said  noble  personages  and  men  of  quality  have  some- 
thing engaged  themselves  and  their  estates  in  the  planting  of  the 
said  river,  and  by  virtue  of  a  patent  do  require  jurisdiction  of  the 
said  place  and  people,  and  neither  the  minds  of  the  said  personages 
(they  being  sent  unto)  are  as  yet  known,  nor  any  manner  of  govern- 
ment is  yet  agreed  on,  and  there  being  a  necessity,  as  aforesaid,  that 
some  present  government  may  be  observed,  we  therefore  think  meet, 
and  so  order,  that  Roger  Ludlowe  Esq.,  William  Pynchon  Esqr, 
John  Steele,  William  Swaine,  Henry  Smyth,  William  Phe[lpes], 
William  Westwood,  and  Andrew  Ward,  or  the  greater  part  of  them, 
«hall  have  full  power  and  authority  "  to  act  in  such  capacity. 

If  within  the  year  a  "  mutual  and  settled  "  government 
were  formed  the  commission  was  to  be  recalled.  But  such 
government  must  be  "  condescended  into  by  and  with  the 
good  liking  and  consent  of  the  said  noble  personages  or 
their  agent,"  as  well  as  the  Bay  Colony,  without  prejudice 
to  the  interest  of  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen  "  in  the  said 
river  and  confines  thereof  within  their  several  limits." 
Three  of  the  eight  commissioners,  Steele,  Westwood,  and 
Ward,  were  New  Newtown  (Hartford)  men ;  Ludlow  and 
Phelps  were  New  Dorchester  (Windsor)  men ;  Swayne  and 
Smyth  were  of  the  New  Watertown  (Wethersfield) ;  and 
Pynchon  alone  stood  for  Agawam  (Springfield).     All  of 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History      47 

the  eight  were  men  of  consequence.  Ward  of  Hartford 
was  an  ancestor  of  Aaron  Burr,  and  from  him  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  got  his  middle  name. 

With  a  provisional  government  thus  arranged  by  Mas- 
sachusetts the  Hookerites  at  length  prepared  for  their  de- 
parture. No  reversal  of  the  negative  vote  of  the  magis- 
trates on  their  petition  of  September,  1634,  appears  to  have 
been  made.  Nor  is  there  record  of  any  further  action  at 
a  subsequent  General  Court.  Probably,  as  historians  have 
observed,  the  liberty  given  in  general  terms  in  the  order  of 
May,  1634,  was  held  to  be  sufficient.  Perhaps  the  majority 
of  the  magistrates  now  sitting  were  more  friendly  than  the 
previous  body  to  the  move,  but  were  shy  of  a  vote  of  rec- 
ord, deeming  exclusion  from  the  court  minutes  of  reference 
to  dispersions  most  prudent,  as  in  the  former  case  of 
the  great  debate  and  negative  action.  At  all  events  the 
Hookerites  moved  away  tranquilly,  and  at  peace  with  the 
Bay  leaders.  Haynes  did  not  go  at  this  time,  but  followed 
shortly,  after  he  had  cleared  the  way  for  his  successor  in 
the  Bay  governorship,  young  Sir  Harry  Vane. 

Whether  Hooker  and  Haynes  and  the  others  in  their 
confidence  contemplated  from  the  start  the  setting  up  of  a 
government  of  their  own,  is  purely  a  matter  of  speculation. 
If  they  did  they  kept  their  hopes  to  themselves  while  they 
were  gettmg  their  new  house  in  order. 

The  provisional  government  continued  serenely  through 
its  year,  affairs  moving  without  jar.  Six  public  courts 
convened  within  the  term.  All  of  them  were  held  in  the 
plantations  on  the  west  side  of  the  River,  although  Agawam 
was  within  the  fold.  Four  met  at  Newtown,  and  one  each 
at  New  Dorchester  and  New  Watertown.  P3mchon  was 
present  at  only  one  of  the  six.     Ludlow  was  a  master- 


48  Connecticut  River 

spirit  at  all.  At  tlie  last  sitting,  in  Newtown,  February 
27,  1637,  the  present  names  of  the  west-side  settlements 
were  adopted,  —  "Hateford  Town"  for  Newtown,  "Wy- 
thersfeild"  for  Watertown,  and  "Windsor"  for  Dorchester. 
In  this  action  some  writers  see  the  first  step  toward  with- 
drawal from  the  Bay  jurisdiction.  Hartford  was  named 
for  the  English  Hertford,  in  compliment,  some  say,  to 
Samuel  Stone,  the  minister  with  Hooker,  whose  birthplace 
it  was ;  others  say  to  Haynes,  whose  ancestors  were  of 
Hertfordshire.  Wethers  field  was  called  after  the  town  in 
old  Essex  from  the  neighborhood  of  which  came  John  Tal- 
cott,  a  first  proprietor  and  leader  in  the  new  settlement. 
Windsor  was  obviously  suggested  by  the  home  of  the  Eng- 
lish sovereigns. 

The  transition  to  the  independent  government  was 
without  friction.  In  its  earlier  stages  it  was  a  sort  of  natural 
evolution.  The  commissioners  constituting  the  old  order 
passed  into  the  new.  Five  of  them,  with  a  single  new 
member,  composed  the  first  court  held  after  the  expiration 
of  the  Massachusetts  commission.  This  sat  at  Newtown 
(Hartford),  March  28, 1637.  The  new  member  was  Thomas 
Welles  of  Newtown,  said  by  tradition  to  have  been  the 
private  secretary  of  Lord  Say  and  Sele  before  coming  out 
to  America.  Twenty  years  later  he  was  a  governor  of 
Connecticut.  Welles  took  the  place  of  William  Westwood 
in  the  court,  but  how  he  was  chosen  does  not  appear.  The 
next  court  was  by  its  composition  a  definite  step  nearer 
independent  government,  and  was  distinctly  a  representa- 
tive body.  It  was  a  General  Court,  in  which  the  commis- 
sioners composing  the  previous  court  sat  with  deputies,  or 
committees,  as  they  were  termed,  elected  by  the  freemen 
in  each  plantation.  Although  organized  primarily  to  meet 
an  emergency,  —  arising  from  the  hostility  of  the  Pequots, 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History      49 

—  it  fixed  itself  as  a  permanent  institution  in  the  adoption 
of  this  order  at  the  finish  of  its  business :  ''  the  General 
Court  now  in  being  shall  be  dissolved,  and  there  is  no  more 
attendance  of  the  members  thereof  to  be  expected  except 
they  be  chosen  in  the  next  General  Court."  It  convened 
at  Newtown  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1637,  and  continued 
in  existence  till  February  9, 1637-8.  It  declared  offensive 
war  against  the  Pequots,  and  prepared  for  the  campaign. 
It  levied  men  for  the  service  from  the  plantations,  provided 
for  provisioning  them,  impressed  Mr.  Pynchon's  shallop  for 
"  the  design,"  and  saw  the  grim  business  through.  Two 
months  after  its  adjom-nment,  or  on  April  5,  1638,  a  new 
General  Court,  similarly  constituted,  came  in,  the  towns 
electing  their  committees  in  the  interim.  In  this  General 
Court  Agawam  was  represented  the  same  as  the  other 
plantations.  But  its  magistrates  and  committee  men,  Mr. 
Pynchon  and  three  others,  attended  only  the  first  sitting ; 
withdrawing,  perhaps,  upon  the  censure  of  Mr.  Pynchon  in 
connection  with  a  corn  contract.  This  was  conveyed  in  an 
order  imposing  upon  him  a  fine  of  "  forty  bushels  of  corn 
for  the  public,"  for  failing  to  be  "  so  careful  to  promote  the 
public  good  in  the  trade  of  corn  as  he  was  bound  to  do," 
in  carrying  out  a  contract  to  supply  the  west  side  towns 
with  this  commodity. 

The  plan  of  government  was  now  maturing,  and  this 
court  is  supposed  to  have  been  entrusted  with  the  framing 
of  it.  At  an  adjourned  session  on  the  last  day  of  May,  Mr. 
Hooker  prepared  the  way  in  his  epoch-making  sermon  be- 
fore the  body.  This  was  the  discourse  in  which  he  enun- 
ciated the  fundamentals  that  should  be  embodied  in  the 
Constitution,  grounded  on  his  explicit  declaration  that  "the 
choice  of  public  magistrates  belongs  to  the  people  of  God's 
own  allowance,"  because  "  the  foundation  of  authority  is 


50  Connecticut  River 

laid  firstly  in  the  consent  of  the  people."  Only  the  heads 
of  this  discourse  are  extant,  but  these  sufficiently  disclose 
its  import.  They  are  preserved  in  a  shorthand  abstract  in 
a  manuscript  note-book  of  Henry  Wolcott,  Jr.,  of  Windsor, 
now  in  the  library  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society, 
for  the  successful  deciphering  of  which  history  is  indebted 
to  J.  Hammond  Trumbull. 

Seven  months  after  the  May  sitting  the  first  of  all 
written  constitutions  of  representative  government  was 
completed.  Then,  on  the  fourteenth  of  January,  1638-9, 
deputies  from  the  towns,  assembled  in  convention  at  Hart- 
ford, adopted  the  instrument  as  the  "  Fundamental  Orders 
of  Connecticut."  This  remarkable  early  seventeenth  cen- 
tiu-y  paper,  the  joint  work  presumably  of  Hooker,  Haynes, 
and  Ludlow,  fashioned,  it  is  pleasant  to  imagine,  in 
Hooker's  Hartford  study  overlooking  our  River,  stands 
unique  among  American  documents  in  being  not  only  the 
^'  first  written  constitution  known  to  history  that  created 
a  government,"  but  the  precedent  for  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  a  century  and  a  half  after.  It  made  no 
allusion  to  any  source  of  authority  whatever  except  the 
towns  themselves.  It  was  silent  as  to  any  duty  to  the 
British  or  any  other  crown.  As  John  Fiske  further  em- 
phasises, it  "  created  a  state  which  was  really  a  tiny  federal 
republic,  and  it  recognized  the  principle  of  federal  equality 
by  equality  of  representation  among  the  towns,  while  at 
the  same  time  it  recognized  popular  sovereignty  by  electing 
its  governor  and  its  upper  house  by  a  plurality  vote,  and  it 
conferred  upon  the  General  Court  only  such  powers  as  were 
expressly  granted."  It  gave  the  suffrage  without  ecclesi- 
astical restrictions,  to  all  the  freemen  admitted  to  the  towns 
who  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity.  The  requisite  for  free- 
manship  was  simply  a  majority  vote  for  admittance,  by  the 


3 


^ 


i  <y 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History      51 

inhabitants  of  the  town  in  town  meeting.  Surely,  as  Fiske 
exclaims,  and  with  pride  as  a  Connecticut  River  man,  for 
he  was  born  at  Hartford,  "•  surely  this  was  the  true  birth 
of  American  democracy  and  the  Connecticut  Valley  was 
its  birthplace ! " 

On  the  second  Thursday  of  April  following  this  mo- 
mentous birth  the  freemen  of  the  three  west-side  River 
towns  again  convened  at  Hartford,  at  a  general  meeting, 
and  completed  their  establishment  with  the  election  of  their 
chief  magistrates.  Hooker  again  preached,  delivering  the 
initial  Connecticut "  Election  Sermon."  With  John  Haynes 
as  governor  were  chosen  six  others  "  to  assist  in  the  mag- 
istracy." Of  the  six,  Roger  Ludlow  was  chosen  deputy 
governor,  Edward  Hopkins  secretary,  and  Thomas  Welles 
treasurer.  The  others  were  George  Wyllys,  John  Webster, 
and  William  Phelps.  All  were  foremost  men  in  the  three 
communities.  Each,  with  the  exception  of  Ludlow  and 
Phelps,  occupied  the  governorship  in  after  years.  Ludlow 
and  Phelps  had  served  continuously  from  the  establishment 
of  the  provisional  government.  The  magistrates  consti- 
tuted the  upper  house  of  the  General  Court. 

The  secession  of  the  three  River  towns  was  now  fully 
established.  Agawam  had  withdrawn  from  the  alliance 
and  had  set  up  a  provisional  government  of  her  own.  A 
month  after  the  establishment  of  the  Connecticut  Consti- 
tution her  inhabitants  entered  into  a  compact  with  the 
proviso  that  "  by  God's  good  providence "  they  found 
themselves  "  fallen  into  the  line  of  the  Massachusetts  ju- 
risdiction," making  Pynchon  their  sole  magistrate.  The 
Hartford  government,  however,  continued  jurisdiction  over 
the  plantation,  and  this,  with  other  proceedings,  gave  rise 
to  a  sharp  correspondence  between  the  Bay  and  the  River 


52  Connecticut  River 

leaders.  The  Bay  men  had  at  first  been  willing  that 
Agawam  "  should  have  fallen  into  the  Connecticut  govern- 
ment"; but  having  come  into  conflict  with  the  River  men 
over  the  articles  for  the  proposed  confederation  of  the  col- 
onies, and  the  River  men  holding  fast  to  their  amendments, 
the  Bay  men  resolved  to  "  stand  upon  "  their  rights  and 
keep  Agawam  in  theh"  jiu-isdiction.  It  seems  to  have  been 
admitted  that  Agawam  lay  within  the  vaguely  defined 
western  bound  of  the  Massachusetts  patent.  But  the  Con- 
necticut men  justified  theu-  course  on  the  action  of  Agawam 
in  participating  in  the  general  election  of  the  spring  of 
1638.  At  that  election  "  the  committees  from  the  town  of 
Agawam  came  in  with  other  towns  and  chose  their  magis- 
trates, installed  them  into  theu'  government,  took  oath  of 
them  for  the  execution  of  justice  according  to  God,  and 
engaged  themselves  to  submit  to  this  government,  and  the 
execution  of  justice  by  their  means,  and  dispensed  by  the 
authority  which  they  put  upon  them  by  choice.  ...  If  Mr. 
Pynchon  can  devise  ways  to  make  his  oath  bind  him  when 
he  will,  and  loose  him  when  he  list ;  if  he  can  tell  how,  in 
faithfulness,  to  eno;aQ:e  himself  in  a  civil  covenant  and 
combination  (for  that  he  did  by  his  committees  by  his  act), 
and  yet  can  cast  it  away  at  his  pleasure,  before  he  give  in 
sufficient  warrant  more  than  his  own  word  and  will,  he 
must  find  a  law  in  Agawam  for  it ;  for  it  is  written  in  no 
law  or  gospel  that  ever  I  read." 

Thus  wrote  Thomas  Hooker  in  that  illuminatino;  letter 
to  John  Winthrop,  senior,  in  the  autumn  of  1638,  which 
lay  in  the  archives  of  Massachusetts  unopened  and  unknown 
to  the  historians  till  its  discovery  by  Dr.  Trumbull  less  than 
half  a  century  ago,  —  the  most  valuable  of  the  several  im- 
portant ''  finds  "  of  this  foremost  of  Connecticut  historical 
scholars,  which  have  made  necessary  the  rewriting  of  more 


A   Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History       53 

than  one  passage  of  our  colonial  history.  It  is  luminous, 
especially  in  the  revelation  it  makes  upon  another  signifi- 
cant matter,  —  the  attitude  at  the  time  that  Hooker  wrote 
of  some  of  the  Bay  partisans,  — "'  multitudes  "  of  them  is 
his  term,  —  toward  the  Connecticut  establishment,  and 
their  persistent  efforts  to  check  emigration  to  the  River 
towns.  Withal  in  vitality  of  expression  it  is  a  colonial 
classic,  as  witness  these  extracts  : 

I  confess  that  my  head  grows  gray  and  my  eyes  dim,  yet  I  am 
sometimes  in  the  watch-tower;  and  if  the  quaere  be,  Watchman, 
what  is  the  night,  as  the  prophet  speaks,  I  shall  tell  you  what  I  have 
observed,  and  shall  be  bold  to  leave  my  complaints  in  your  bosom,  of 
what  is  beyond  question. . . .  What  I  shall  write  are  not  forged  imag- 
inations and  suppositions  carved  out  of  men's  conceits,  but  that  which 
is  reported  and  cried  openly  and  carried  by  sea  and  land.  Secondly, 
my  aim  is  not  at  any  person,  nor  intendment  to  charge  any  particu- 
lar with  you  ;  because  it  is  the  common  trade  that  is  driven  among 
multitudes  with  you,  and  with  which  the  heads  and  hearts  of  passen- 
gers come  loaded  hither,  and  that  with  grief  and  wonderment ;  and 
the  conclusion  which  is  arrived  at  from  these  reproaches  and  prac- 
tices is  this,  that  we  are  a  forlorn  people,  not  worthy  to  be  succored 
with  company  and  so  neither  with  support. 

I  will  particularize.  If  enquire  be,  What  be  the  people  of 
Connecticut?  the  reply  is,  Alas,  poor  rash-headed  creatures,  they 
rushed  themselves  into  a  war  with  the  heathen  [the  Pequot  War  of 
1637],  and  so  had  we  not  rescued  them  at  so  many  hundred  charges, 
they  had  been  utterly  undone.  In  all  which  you  know  there  is  not 
a  true  sentence ;  for  we  did  not  rush  into  the  war ;  and  the  Lord 
himself  did  rescue  before  friends. 

If  after  much  search  made  for  the  settling  of  the  people  and 
nothing  suitable  found  to  their  desires  but  toward  Connecticut ;  if 
yet  then  they  will  needs  go  from  the  Bay,  go  any  whither,  be  any 
where,  choose  any  place,  any  patent  —  Narragansett,  Plymouth,  — 
only  go  not  to  Connecticut.     We  hear  and  bear. 

Immediately  after  the  winter,  because  there  was  likelihood 
multitudes  would  come  over,  and  lest  any  should  desire  to  come 
hither,  then  there  is  a  lamentable  cry  raised,  that  all  their  cows  at 


54  Connecticut  River 

Connecticut  are  dead,  and  that  I  had  lost  nine  and  only  one  left  and 
that  was  not  likely  to  live  (when  I  never  had  but  eight  and  they 
never  did  better  than  last  year).     We  hear  still  and  bear. 

And  lest  haply  some  men  should  be  encouraged  to  come  be- 
cause of  any  subsistence  and  continuance  here,  then  the  rumour  is 
noised  that  I  am  weary  of  my  station  ;  or  if  I  did  know  whither 
to  go,  or  my  people  what  way  to  take,  we  would  never  abide  :  where- 
as such  impudent  forgery  is  scant  found  in  hell ;  for  I  profess  I  know 
not  a  member  of  my  congregation  but  sits  down  well  apayd  with  his 
portion,  and  for  myself,  I  have  said  what  now  I  write :  if  I  was  to 
choose  I  would  be  where  I  am. 

But  notwithstanding  all  this  the  matter  is  not  sure,  and  there 
is  some  fear  that  some  men  will  come  toward  Connecticut  when 
ships  come  over ;  either  some  have  related  the  nature  of  the  place  or 
some  friends  invited  them  ;  and  therefore  care  must  be  taken,  and  is 
by  this  generation,  as  soon  as  any  ship  arrives,  that  persons  haste 
presently  to  board  them,  and  when  no  occasion  is  offered  or  question 
propounded  for  Connecticut,  then  their  pity  to  their  countrymen  is 
such  that  they  cannot  but  speak  the  truth :  Alas,  do  you  think  to  go 
to  Connecticut  ?  Why  do  you  long  to  be  undone  ?  If  you  do  not, 
bless  yourself  from  thence  ;  their  upland  will  bear  no  corn,  their 
meadows  nothing  but  weeds,  and  the  people  are  almost  all  starved. 
Sill  we  hear  and  bear. 

But  may  be  these  sudden  expressions  will  be  taken  as  words  of 
course,  and  therefore  vanish  away  when  once  spoken.  Let  it  there- 
fore be  provided  that  the  innkeepers  entertain  their  guests  with  in- 
vectives against  Connecticut,  and  those  are  set  on  with  the  salt,  and 
go  off  with  the  voyder.  If  any  hear  and  stay,  then  they  are  wel- 
comed ;  but  if  these  reports  cannot  stop  a  man's  proceeding  from 
making  trial,  they  look  at  him  as  a  Turk,  or  as  a  man  scant  worthy 
to  live.     Still  we  hear  and  bear. 

That's  in  New  England  :  but  send  over  a  watch  a  little  into 
Old  England  ;  and  go  we  there  to  the  Exchange,  the  very  like  trade 
is  driven  by  persons  which  come  from  you,  as  though  there  was  a 
resolved  correspondence  held  in  this  particular ;  as  the  master  and 
merchant  who  came  this  last  year  to  Seabrook  Fort  related,  even 
to  my  amazement,  there  is  a  tongue-battle  fought  upon  the  E.vchange 


A  Significant  Chapter  of  Colonial  History       55 

by  all  the  plots  that  can  be  forged  to  keep  passengers  from  coming, 
or  to  hinder  any  from  sending  a  vessel  to  Connecticut,  as  proclaimed 
an  utter  impossibility. 

Sir,  he  wants  a  nostril  that  feels  not  and  scents  not  a  schismat- 
ical  spirit  in  such  a  framer  of  falsifj'ing  relations  to  gratify  some 
persons,  and  satisfy  their  own  ends.  Do  these  things  argue  brotherly 
love  ?  Do  these  issue  from  spirits  that  either  pity  the  necessities  of 
their  brethren,  or  would  that  the  work  of  God  should  prosper  in 
their  hands?  or  rather  argue  the  quite  contrarj'.  If  these  be  the 
ways  of  God,  or  that  the  blessing  of  God  do  follow  them,  I  never 
preached  God's  ways  nor  knew  what  belonged  to  them.  .  .  . 
Worthy  Sir,  these  are  not  jealousies  which  we  needlessly  raise ; 
they  are  realities  which  passengers  daily  relate,  we  hear  and  bear ; 
and  I  leave  them  in  your  bosom  ;  only  I  confess  I  count  it  my  duty, 
and  I  do  privately  and  publicly  pray  against  such  wickedness ;  and 
the  Lord  hath  wont  to  hear  the  prayer  of  the  despised. 

In  time  the  relations  between  the  two  colonies  became 
more  amicable,  and  differences  were  settled  without  rancor. 
The  territory  of  Agawam  was  at  length  formally  confirmed 
as  within  the  Bay  patent,  and  she  took  her  place  as  a 
Massachusetts  town.  She  had  become  Springfield  in  1641, 
taking  the  name  of  the  English  town  from  which  Pynchon 
came.  The  New  England  Confederacy  became  successfully 
established  in  1643.  Hooker  and  Winthrop,  notwithstand- 
ing their  sharp  correspondence,  remained  steadfastly  stanch 
friends.  And  when  in  1647  Hooker  died  at  his  Hartford 
home,  Winthrop  wrote  of  him :  " .  .  .  who  for  piety,  pru- 
dence, wisdom,  zeal,  learning,  and  what  else  might  make 
him  serviceable  in  the  place  and  time  he  lived  in,  might 
be  compared  with  men  of  greatest  note ;  and  he  shall  need 
no  other  praise :  the  fruits  of  his  labours  in  both  Englands 
shall  preserve  an  honourable  and  happy  remembrance  of 
him  forever." 


The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Hope 

Troubled  Life  of  the  Dutch  among  their  English  Neighbors  —  Petty  Aggres- 
sions on  Both  Sides  —  De  Vries's  Observations  in  1639  —  His  Dinner-table 
Talk  with  Governor  Haynes  —  A  Pleasant  Episode  of  his  Visit  —  Comman- 
der Provoost's  Strenuous  Five  Years  —  A  Dramatic  Scene  at  the  Fort  — 
Diplomatic  Gysbert  op  Dyck  —  Peter  Stuy vesant  at  Hartford  —  The  Hart- 
ford Treaty  of  1650  —  A  brief  "  Happy  Peace  "  —  Captain  John  Underbill 
upon  the  Scene  —  He  seizes  the  House  of  Hope  —  End  of  Dutch  Occupation. 

TO  the  post  of  the  House  of  Hope  the  Dutch  clung  for 
fifteen  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  Connecti- 
cut colony.  They  were  in  almost  constant  broils  with 
their  English  neighbors.  Their  domain  was  repeatedly 
encroached  upon ;  their  field-hands  were  harassed ;  their 
tempers  ruffled  by  all  sorts  of  petty  annoyances :  the  object 
of  all  apparently  being  to  drive  them  from  the  Valley. 
They  retaliated  from  time  to  time,  giving  the  English  in 
their  turn  just  cause  for  complaint,  and  they  protested  and 
threatened  much.  Yet  they  held  back  from  open  war- 
fare, restrained,  perhaps,  by  reason  of  their  weakness,  for 
they  remained  a  small  and  feeble  body  in  an  aggressive 
community,  and  were  backed  by  the  New  Netherland 
government  only  by  words  in  lieu  of  men. 

The  English  aggressions  became  most  pronounced  im- 
mediately upon  the  setting  up  of  the  new  colony.  In 
June  of  1639,  only  two  months  after  the  first  inaugura- 
tion, the  worthy  David  Pieterzen  de  Vries,  master  of  artil- 
lery in  the  service  of  Holland,  and  an  industrious  planter 
of  colonies,  visited  the  fort,  coming  in  his  yacht  on  a  sum- 

56 


The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Hope  57 

mer  cruise  from  New  Amsterdam,  and  found  the  commis- 
sary thus  early  warm  over  the  situation.  The  garrison 
then  consisted  of  only  fourteen  or  fifteen  soldiers  with  the 
commissary,  Gysbert  op  Dyck.  Hartford  town  was  seen 
to  be  well  started  within  the  Dutch  domain,  in  spite  of 
Op  Dyck's  protest,  and  had  already  "  a  fine  chiu-ch  and 
over  a  hundred  houses."  Some  of  the  English  had  begun 
to  plow  up  the  reserved  lands  about  the  redoubt  in  defiance 
of  the  Dutch  soldiers,  and  when  the  latter  attempted  to 
interfere  had  "  cudgelled  "  them.  Appealed  to  by  Op  Dyck, 
De  Vries  went  into  the  town,  and  presented  himself  to 
Governor  Haynes.  He  was  graciously  received  and  invited 
to  dinner  at  the  governor's  house.  At  the  table  the  con- 
versation tiu-ned  upon  the  Dutch  grievances.  "  I  told 
him,"  De  Vries  narrates  in  his  journal, ''  that  it  was  wrong 
to  take  by  force  the  company's  land  which  it  had  bought 
and  paid  for.  He  answered  that  the  lands  were  lying 
idle ;  that  though  we  had  been  there  many  years  we  had 
done  scarcely  anything ;  that  it  was  a  sin  to  let  such  rich 
land  which  produced  such  fine  corn  lie  imcultivated ;  and 
that  they  had  already  built  three  towns  upon  this  River 
in  a  fine  country."  Whether  these  arguments  satisfied 
De  Vries  does  not  appear;  but  here  the  record  ends,  and 
Op  Dyck's  tribulations  continued  as  before. 

In  his  narrative  of  this  visit,  which  lasted  nearly  a 
week,  De  Vries  gives  us  a  sketch  of  the  situation  of  the 
House  of  Hope  as  it  then  appeared ;  and  he  relates  an 
anecdote  which  illustrates  the  life  of  the  young  River 
town,  his  own  cleverness  in  diplomacy,  and  the  tender- 
heartedness of  the  colonial  dames  of  that  early  day. 

The  redoubt  he  describes  as  standing  on  a  plain  on  the 
margin  of  the  River,  with  a  creek  running  alongside  of  it 
to  a  high  woodland,  "  out  of  which  comes  a  valley  which 


58  Connecticut  River 

makes  this  kill/'  where  the  town  was  built.     The  anec- 
dote runs  in  this  wise  : 

Among  the  incidents  which  happened  while  I  was  here  was 
that  of  an  English  ketch  arriving  here  from  the  north  with  thirty 
pipes  of  Canary  wine.  There  was  a  merchant  with  it,  who  was 
from  the  same  city,  in  England,  as  the  servant  of  the  minister  of 
this  town,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  him.  Now  this  merchant 
invited  the  minister's  servant  on  board  the  vessel  to  drink  with 
him  ;  and  it  seems  that  the  man  became  fuddled  with  wine,  or  drank 
pretty  freely,  which  was  observed  by  the  minister.  So  they  brought 
the  servant  to  the  church,  where  the  post  stood,  in  order  to  whip 
him.  The  merchant  then  came  to  me  and  requested  me  to  speak 
to  the  minister,  as  it  was  my  fault  that  he  had  given  wine  to  his 
countryman. 

I  accordingly  went  to  the  commander  of  our  little  fort,  or 
redoubt,  and  invited  the  minister  and  the  mayor  [?  governor],  and 
other  leading  men  with  their  wives,  who  were  very  fond  of  eating 
cherries;  as  there  were  from  forty  to  fifty  cherry-trees  standing 
about  the  redoubt,  full  of  cherries,  we  feasted  the  minister  and 
the  governor,  and  their  wives  also  came  to  us;  and  as  we  were 
seated  at  the  meal  in  the  redoubt,  I  together  with  the  merchant, 
requested  the  minister  to  pardon  his  servant,  saying  that  he  probably 
had  not  partaken  of  any  wine  for  a  year,  and  that  such  sweet  Canary 
wine  would  intoxicate  any  man.  We  were  a  long  time  before  we 
could  persuade  him ;  but  their  wives  spoke  favorably,  whereby  the 
servant  got  free. 

De  Vries  observed  that  the  Hartford  folk  lived  soberly 
as  a  rule.  They  "  drink  only  three  times  at  a  meal,  and 
whoever  drinks  himself  drunk  they  tie  to  a  post  and  whip 
him,  as  they  do  thieves  in  Holland." 

Gysbert  op  Dyck  resigned  his  charge  in  October,  1640, 
"  disgusted  with  a  post  where  he  was  so  constantly  in- 
sulted." The  English  had  now  openly  denied  the  right  of 
the  Dutch  to  any  land  about  the  fort.  "  Show  yom*  right, 
and  we  are  ready  to  exhibit  ours."     So  Governor  Hopkins, 


The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Hope  59 

Haynes's  successor,  retorted  to  Op  Dyck's  reiterated  plea 
of  title  through  purchase  prior  to  any  English  settlement 
here.  The  English  right  was  now  grounded  also  on  pur- 
chase, with  that  of  conquest  added.  In  1635  or  1636 
they  had  secured  a  deed  from  Sunckquasson,  son  of  Sow- 
heag,  the  "  chief  Sequeen,"  alluded  to  in  the  Dutch 
claim  as  the  "  lord  or  right  owner  of  the  entii'e  River  and 
land  thereabouts,"  who  had  assented  to  the  Pequots'  sale 
to  Van  Curler  in  1633.  Their  claim  by  conquest  was 
through  their  crushing  of  the  Pequots  in  1638.  To  fortify 
their  claim  by  purchase  they  had  in  July  of  1640  obtained 
from  Sunckquasson,  or  Sequasson,  now  chief  of  the  tribe, 
a  denial  of  the  assent  to  the  Pequot  sale  to  Van  Curler. 
Brought  into  the  Hartford  court,  Sequasson  had  testified 
that  "  he  never  sold  any  ground  to  the  Dutch,  neither  was 
at  any  time  conquered  by  the  Pequots,  or  paid  tribute  to 
them."  In  the  following  September  the  colony  further 
procured  from  Uncas,  since  the  Pequot  overthrow  the  all- 
powerful  Mohegan  sagamore,  "  a  clear  and  ample  deed  of 
all  his  lands  in  Connecticut,  except  the  lands  which  were 
then  planted,"  the  latter  being  reserved  for  himseK  and 
his  people.  Meanwhile  collisions  between  the  English  and 
Dutch  farmers  repeatedly  occm-red,  and  blows  were  ex- 
changed. Complaints  appear  in  the  later  records  of  many 
petty  encounters,  some  of  which  provoke  a  smile  as  we 
peruse  them,  though  grave  enough  they  must  have  been 
to  the  sufferers.  There  was  the  case  of  one  Evert  Duyc- 
kink,  a  garrison  man,  who  while  sowing  grain  was  struck 
''  a  hole  in  his  head  with  a  sticke,  soe  that  the  bloode  ran 
downe  very  strongly,  downe  upon  his  body."  Others  were 
beaten  off,  lamed,  with  plow-staves.  Ground  which  the 
Dutch  had  broken  and  made  ready  for  seed,  was  seized  in 
the  night-time,  and  sown  with  corn  by  the  quick-acting 


60  Connecticut  River 

English,  and  thenceforward  held  by  them.  Standing  peas 
were  cut  down  and  corn  planted  instead.  They  cut  the 
ropes  of  a  plow  and  threw  it  in  the  river.  They  blocked 
up  the  House  of  Hope  with  palisades  on  the  land  side. 
"  Those  of  Hartford  sold  a  hogg  that  belonged  to  the 
honoiu-ed  companie  under  pretense  that  it  had  eaten  of 
their  grounde  grass,  when  they  had  not  any  foot  of  inheri- 
tance." Kieft,  —  Irving's  "William  the  Testy," — now 
the  director  of  New  Netherland,  entered  stout-worded  pro- 
tests against  the  aggressive  acts,  but  rendered  Op  Dyck 
no  other  aid. 

The  next  year  (1641),  however,  when  Jan  Hendricksen 
Roesen  had  succeeded  Op  Dyck,  Kieft  roused  himself  to 
action.  In  June  he  arranged  to  send  a  force  of  fifty  sol- 
diers and  two  sloops  to  fortify  the  fort,  and  "to  prevent 
the  repetition  of  such  hostility  as  the  English  have  wick- 
edly committed  against  oiu*  people,  and  maintain  our 
rights  and  territory."  Johannes  La  Montagne,  the  Hugue- 
not physician,  second  to  Kieft  in  the  council  of  New 
Netherland,  was  put  in  charge  of  this  expedition.  But  it 
never  reached  the  River.  "  It  pleased  the  Lord  to  dis- 
appoint their  purpose,"  they  being  compelled  to  "  keep 
their  soldiers  at  home  to  defend  themselves."  So  the 
elder  Winthrop  wrote  down  in  his  Journal.  The  occasion, 
far  from  providential  to  the  Dutch,  was  a  cruel  rising  of 
the  Indians  against  De  Vries's  colony  on  Staten  Island. 
Meanwhile  counter  complaints  were  made  by  the  Hartford 
government  of  the  "insolent  behavior"  of  the  men  at  the 
fort.  They  were  charged  with  vending  arms  and  ammu- 
nition to  the  Indians  suspected  of  hostile  intentions ;  with 
giving  "  entertainment "  to  fugitives  from  justice ;  with 
helping  prisoners  to  "  file  off  their  irons  "  ;  with  assisting 
criminals  in  breaking  goal ;  with  persuading  servants  to 


The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Hope  61 

run  from  their  masters  and  then  sheltermg  them ;  with 
purchasing  goods  stolen  from  the  English,  and  refusing  to 
return  them.  By  this  time  the  domain  about  the  fort  had 
been  contracted  by  the  English  to  about  thirty  acres. 

In  1642  David  Provoost  came  to  the  charge  of  the  fort 
and  held  it  through  five  stormy  years.  During  this  period 
the  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  took  a  hand  in 
the  controversy  between  the  two  contestants,  and  the  mat- 
ter was  carried  across  the  sea  for  adjustment.  But  all 
failed  of  success,  and  the  relations  steadily  grew  more 
strained.  In  1642  Kieft  instituted  new  retaliatory  meas- 
ures, in  issuing  a  prohibition  of  all  trade  and  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  Hartford  folk  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  fort.  Later  on  the  colony  proposed  to  buy  out  the 
Dutch  company's  interest  in  the  contested  land  about  the 
fort.  The  General  Court  sent  delegates  to  New  Nether- 
land  to  negotiate.  Kieft,  "  after  explaining  in  detail  the 
antiquity  of  the  Dutch  title,"  declined  to  entertain  their 
proposal.  He  offered,  instead,  a  lease  of  the  coveted 
Hartford  field  for  an  annual  rent  of  a  tenth  part  of  the 
produce  from  it,  so  long  as  the  English  occupation  should 
continue.  The  committee  reported  accordingly  to  the 
court,  and  there  the  matter  ended. 

At  length,  in  1646,  Provoost  committed  an  act  of 
defiance  to  the  colonial  authorities  which  led  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  Colonies  to  address  Kieft  in  formal 
complaint  of  the  "  strange  and  insufferable  boldness  "  of 
the  Dutch  on  the  River.  Provoost's  performance  was  in- 
discreet, but  dramatic,  with  a  chivalrous  air  and  the  hauteur 
of  a  soldier  baited  by  a  petty  police,  which  compels  admi- 
ration. A  captive  Indian  woman  fleeing  from  her  English 
master  had  found  refuo-e  in  the  fort,  and  the  mao-istrates 
demanded  her  surrender.     The  demand  being  denied  or 


62  Connecticut  River 

ignored,  the  "watch  of  Hartford"  were  sent  to  enforce  it. 
Provoost  met  them  without  the  fort,  and  drawing  his 
rapier  broke  it  upon  their  weapons.  Then  turning  his 
back  upon  them  contemptuously,  he  strode  off  without  a 
word,  to  his  quarters.  "  Had  he  been  slain  in  this  proud 
affront,"  the  commissioners  exclaimed,  "  his  blood  had 
been  upon  his  own  head ! "  Kieft's  reply  was  an  asser- 
tion that  the  Hartford  people  had  deceived  the  commis- 
sioners with  false  accusations.  The  wrongs,  he  insisted, 
had  been  committed  on  their  side.  For  them  to  complain 
of  the  Dutch  at  Fort  Hope  was  "like  Esop's  Wolf  com- 
plaining of  the  Lamb."  As  to  the  "  barbarian  handmaid  " 
detained  by  them,  "  she  was  probably  not  a  slave  but  a 
free  woman,  '  because  she  was  neither  taken  in  war  nor 
bought  with  a  price ' ;  yet  she  should  not  be  '  wrongfully 
detained.'  "  The  commissioners  answered  expressing  them- 
selves as  "much  unsatisfied"  with  Kieft's  attitude.  He 
could  not  prove  his  charge  of  deceit  against  the  Hartford 
people,  they  wrote.  Nor  was  his  assumption  as  to  the 
status  of  the  Indian  maid  true.  She  was  a  captive,  taken 
in  war ;  and  she  had  "  fled  from  public  justice,  and  was 
detained  by  the  Dutch  '  both  from  her  master  and  the  magis- 
trate.' "  As  "  for  your  other  expressions,  proverbs,  or  allu- 
sions," the  letter  closes  with  fine  dignity,  "  we  leave  them 
to  your  better  consideration."  Thus  the  correspondence, 
conducted  on  both  sides  in  sonorous  Latin,  ended,  the 
honors  with  the  English.  For,  as  Brodhead,  holding  the 
brief  for  the  Dutch,  says,  "  while  justice  and  equity  ap- 
peared to  be  on  the  side  of  the  Hollanders,  the  English 
negotiators  showed  themselves  the  better  diplomatists,  and 
the  reckless  Kieft  only  injured  a  good  cause  by  intemper- 
ate zeal  and  undignified  language." 

Upon  the  recall  of  "William  the  Testy"  and  the  in- 


The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Hope  63 

coming  of  '*  Peter  the  Headstrong,"  Gysbert  op  Dyck  was 
returned  to  the  command  of  the  fort.  During  the  five 
years  interim  between  his  first  service  and  his  reappoint- 
ment he  had  been  a  member  of  Kieft's  council  at  New 
Amsterdam,  and,  though  the  director's  friend,  had  opposed 
his  harsher  methods  and  policy.  A  man  of  education  and 
good  parts,  having  withal  some  skill  in  diplomacy,  he  now 
established  more  agreeable  relations  with  his  neighbors. 
During  this  second  term,  beginning  in  1647,  there  was  less 
of  the  friction  that  drove  him  to  resign  in  disgust  before. 
But  the  English  pressure  continued  imabated.  At  length 
the  Dutch  limits  on  the  River  were  definitely  defined  in 
the  provisional  "  Hartford  Treaty  "  of  1650,  which  resulted 
from  the  friendly  meeting  of  Stuyvesant  with  the  council 
of  the  United  Colonies  at  Hartford,  to  settle  the  various 
long-standing  disputes  between  New  Netherland  and  New 
England,  in  the  hope  of  establishing  a  "  perpetual  and 
happy  peace."  For  this  convention  Stuyvesant  made  the 
autumn  journey  from  New  Amsterdam  in  state.  The 
immortal  Knickerbocker  tells  of  his  suite  of  the  " '  wisest 
and  weightiest  men '  of  the  community,  that  is  to  say,  men 
with  the  oldest  heads  and  heaviest  pockets."  And  how 
when  these  "  ponderous  burghers "  departed  on  this  em- 
bassy, "  all  the  old  men  and  the  old  women  "  of  the  Man- 
hattoes  "predicted  that  men  of  such  weight,  with  such 
evidence,  would  leave  the  Yankees  no  alternative  but  to 
pack  up  their  tin-kettles  and  wooden  wares,  put  wife  and 
children  in  a  cart,  and  abandon  all  the  lands  of  their  High 
Mightinesses  on  which  they  had  squatted."  By  the  arbi- 
trators' decision,  however,  the  Dutch  got  the  little  end  of 
the  bargain.  They  were  allowed  only  the  land  about  the 
fort  then  actually  occupied  by  them,  and  marked  by  cer- 
tain defined  bounds ;  all  the  remaining  territory  that  had 


64  Connecticut  River 

been  taken  into  Hartford  bounds,  on  botii  sides  of  the 
River,  being  confirmed  as  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  English. 
The  "  happy  peace  "  was  of  short  duration.  By  1653, 
when  the  war  between  England  and  Holland  was  on,  and 
Connecticut,  spoiling  for  a  fight  with  New  Netherland, 
was  held  back  only  by  the  refusal  of  Massachusetts  to 
join,  happy  peace  was  completely  shattered.  With  the 
reports  of  a  Dutch  and  Indian  plot  to  destroy  the  English 
plantations,  and  the  sharp  passages  between  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  Colonies  and  Stuyvesant  as  to  his 
complicity  in  the  alleged  plot,  an  accusation  hotly  charged 
and  denied,  the  House  of  Hope  appears  to  have  been 
quietly  abandoned.  Then  came  upon  the  scene  that  rest- 
less soldier  and  worldly  Puritan,  Captain  John  Underbill, 
—  he  whose  sword,  trained  in  the  British  service  in  the 
Low  Countries,  in  Ireland  and  in  Cadiz,  had  been  with 
the  Dutch  as  well  as  the  English  in  American-Indian  wars ; 
a  hero  of  the  Pequot  war ;  leader  of  the  "  flying  army  "  in 
the  Dutch  war  against  the  Indians  of  Long  Island  and 
the  mainland ;  sometime  of  Boston,  disciplined  there  by  the 
church  and  confessing  with  much  "  blubbering  "  and  little 
sincerity  to  "  foul  sins  "  against  the  social  code  ;  sometime 
of  Stamford  on  the  Sound ;  later  of  Flushing  on  Long 
Island  under  the  Dutch ;  there,  when  the  moment  seemed 
propitious,  hoisting  the  Parliament  colors  and  calling  upon 
the  commonality  of  New  Amsterdam  to  '•  accept  and  sub- 
mit ye  to  the  Parliament  of  England."  Ordered  to  quit 
the  Dutch  province,  he  fled  to  Rhode  Island ;  thence,  with 
a  roving  commission  under  the  seal  of  the  colony  of  Provi- 
dence Plantations  giving  him  and  William  Dyer  "full 
power  and  authority  to  defend  themselves  from  the  Dutch 
and  all  enemies  of  the  commonwealth  of  England,"  this 
robustious  hero  started  out  on  a  little  war  of  his  own. 


The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Hope  65 

Armed  with  his  commission,  Underhill  made  his  appear- 
ance on  the  River  one  June  day,  and  proceeding  to  the 
House  of  Hope  posted  this  flaming  notice  on  its  outer  door : 

Whereas,  By  virtue  off  Commission  graunted  me  by  Providence 
Collonye,  authorized  by  the  Councell  of  State,  and  I  hauinge  iu  the 
said  Commission  full  power  for  land  service  against  ye  Dutch  in 
these  terms  following  —  "  It  is  farther  resolved  yt  Capt.  Jo.  Under- 
hill shall  be  Commander  in  Cheife  in  ye  service  against  ye  Dutch  by 
land  &  Mr  Wm  Dyer  in  Cheife  by  Water,"  —  and  by  virtue  of  ye  sd 
Commission,  and  according  to  Act  of  Parlyment  and  wth  permission 
from  ye  Generall  Court  of  Hartford,  — 

I  Jo  Underhill  doe  seize  upon  this  hous  and  lands  thereunto 
belonging  as  Dutch  goods  claymed  by  ye  West  India  Company  in 
Amsterdam  enemies  of  the  Commonweal  of  England,  and  thus  to 
remayne  seized  till  further  determined  by  ye  said  Court. 

Hartford,  this  27tli  of  June,  1653. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  permission  from  the  Hartford 
government  which  Underhill  claimed  to  have  had.  He 
apparently  acted  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  treated  the 
property  as  his  private  spoils.  For  he  subsequently  twice 
sold  it,  giving  his  personal  deed.  In  less  than  ten  months 
after  his  seizure,  the  Hartford  coiu-t,  ignoring  his  action, 
sequestered  the  property  by  virtue  of  its  own  authority,  in 
this  order : 

[April  session,  1654]  .  .  .  Ordered  and  declared,  that  the  Dutch 
howse  the  Hope  with  the  lands,  buildings,  and  fences  thereunto  be- 
longing, bee  hereby  sequestered  and  resarued,  all  perticular  claimes 
or  prtended  right  thereunto  notwithstanding,  in  the  behalfe  of  the 
Common  wealth  of  England,  till  a  true  tryall  may  be  had  of  the 
prmises,  &  in  the  meane  time  this  Court  prohibitts  all  persons  what- 
soeuer  from  improving  of  the  premises  by  vertue  of  any  former  title 
had,  made,  or  giuen,  to  them  or  any  of  them,  by  any  of  the  Dutch 
natyon,  or  any  other,  without  the  aprobatyon  of  this  Courte,  or 
except  it  bee  by  vertue  of  power  &  order  rec'd  from  them  for  their 


66  Connecticut  River 

Boe  doing ;  &  whatever  rent  for  any  part  of  the  premises  in  any  of 
their  hands,  it  shall  not  be  disposed  off  but  according  to  what  order 
they  shall  receiue  from  this  Court  or  the  Magistrates  thereof. 

In  July  came  the  news  of  peace  between  England  and 
Holland  with  the  treaty  stipulating  that  each  side  should 
hold  what  it  had  taken.  So  the  last  foothold  of  the  Dutch 
on  the  Connecticut  was  finally  broken,  and  the  English 
colonists  were  supreme  in  the  River's  possession. 

The  House  of  Hope  and  its  grounds  remained  seques- 
tered for  a  year,  or  till  July,  1655,  when  Underbill  made 
his  second  sale.  The  transaction  was  in  spite  of  a  decree 
of  the  Hartford  court  two  months  before,  refusing  a  peti- 
tion from  him  for  permission  to  sell,  his  rights  in  the 
property  being  definitely  denied.  The  grantees  were  Wil- 
liam Gibbons  and  Richard  Low,  both  responsible  citizens 
of  Hartford,  "  distinguished  for  their  probity,  enterprise, 
and  good  service  to  the  country."  Accordingly,  it  is 
assumed,  the  court  made  no  interference  with  the  transfer, 
contenting  itself  with  the  formal  record  of  its  own  rights 
in  the  case. 

In  the  process  of  time,  however,  the  unceasing  River 
removed  what  the  court  left  undisturbed.  Every  vestige 
of  the  site  on  which  the  House  of  Hope  stood  was  long 
ago  worn  away ;  and  of  the  house  itself  the  only  memorial 
is  a  single  yellow  Holland  brick  now  among  the  relics  of 
the  Connecticut  Historical  Society  at  Hartford. 


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•'S 

VI 

Saybrook  Fort 

The  Saybrook  Plantation  for  Important  Colonists  "who  never  came  —  The 
Questioned  Story  of  the  Embarkation  of  Cromwell  and  Hampden  — 
Beginnings  by  George  Fenwick  —  Lion  Gardiner's  grim  Humor  —  John 
Winthrop  the  Younger  :  a  Remarkable  Personage  —  Fenwick's  Home  on 
Saybrook  Point  —  Lady  Fenwick  —  John  Higginson,  the  Chaplain  — 
Lady  Fenwick's  lonely  Tomb  —  The  second  Saybrook  Fort,  Scene  of  an 
Adventure  of  Andros  in  1675  —  Beginnings  of  Yale  College  at  Saybrook  — 
The  "  Saybrook  Platform  "  — First  Book  Printed  in  Connecticut. 

SAYBROOK  remained  the  sole  foothold  of  the  Lords 
and  Gentlemen  on  the  River  lands  for  five  years  after 
the  establishment  of  the  Connecticut  colony,  and  then  was 
absorbed  in  it.  Their  great  project  had  early  faded  out. 
Of  the  noble  company  of  "persons  of  quality"  with 
"  three  hundred  able  men,"  for  whose  coming  in  1636 
Lion  Gardiner  had  industriously  prepared,  only  two  ap- 
peared, —  George  Fenwick  and  his  man-servant.  Numerous 
others  of  "figure  and  distinction"  had  undoubtedly  made 
ready  for  removal,  but  circumstances  changed  their  plans. 
There  appears  to  be  fair  ground  for  belief  that  among  them 
were  Sir  Arthur  Hazlerig,  Sir  Matthew  Boynton,  and  the 
commoners  ^jra,  Hampden,  and  Cromwell.  Although  au- 
thorities widely  differ  as  to  this  tradition,  the  lay  reader  is 
disposed  to  accept  it,  fascinated  by  its  picturesqueness,  and 
for  the  zest  it  gives  to  speculation  upon  what  might  have 
been.  Thus  the  story  runs,  as  evolved  by  the  various 
writers  from  the  original  statement  of  Dr.  George  Bates, 
physician  to  Charles  I,  Cromwell,  and  Charles  II  respec- 


68  Connecticut  River 

tively.  Cromwell,  Hampden  and  the  rest  were  passengers 
on  one  of  a  fleet  of  eight  ships  ready  to  sail,  in  the  spring 
of  1638,  when  by  orders  passed  in  council  the  vessels  were 
stayed  and  all  the  passengers  and  provisions  put  ashore. 
Subsequently  the  vessels  were  permitted  to  depart,  but  this 
company  remained  behind.  Most  picturesque  is  Macaulay's 
portrayal  of  this  embarkation : 

Hampden  determined  to  leave  England.  Beyond  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  a  few  of  the  persecuted  Puritans  had  formed  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  Connecticut  a  settlement  which  has  since  become  a  pros- 
perous commonwealth.  .  .  .  Lord  Saye  and  Lord  Brook  were  the 
original  projectors  of  this  scheme  of  emigration.  Hampden  had 
been  early  consulted  respecting  it.  He  was  now,  it  appears,  desir- 
ous to  withdraw  himself  beyond  the  reach  of  oppressors  who,  as  he 
probably  suspected,  and  as  we  know,  were  bent  on  punishing  his 
manful  resistance  to  their  tyranny.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
kinsman,  Oliver  Cromwell,  over  whom  he  possessed  great  influence, 
and  in  whom  he  alone  had  discovered  under  an  exterior  appearance 
of  coarseness  and  extravagance,  those  great  and  commanding  talents 
which  were  afterward  the  admiration  and  the  dread  of  Europe. 
The  cousins  took  their  passage  on  a  vessel  which  lay  in  the  Thames, 
and  which  was  bound  for  North  America.  They  were  actually  on 
board  when  an  order  of  council  appeared,  by  which  the  ship  was 
prohibited  from  sailing.  .  .  .  Hampden  and  Cromwell  remained ; 
and  with  them  remained  the  Evil  Genius  of  the  house  of  Stuart. 

How  wondrously  different  might  history  have  read 
had  Cromwell  got  here,  and  established  himself  at  the 
mouth  of  our  River ! 

Fenwick  was  at  this  time  again  in  England,  having  gone 
back  in  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1636,  probably  to  report 
to  his  associates  and  arrange  the  proposed  emigration. 
When  the  new  Connecticut  government  was  inaugurated 
he  was  still  abroad.  By  midsummer  following,  however, 
he  had  returned,  accompanied  by  his  family  and  a  few 


Saybrook  Fort  69 

others.  Then,  as  agent  for  the  patentees,  he  set  up  his 
independent  establishment,  and  gave  the  plantation  its 
name  of  Saybrook,  in  compliment  to  Lords  Say  and 
Brooke. 

Lion  Gardiner,  who  had  held  the  fort  with  his  little 
garrison  and  their  families  from  the  beginning,  now  moved 
with  a  few  of  the  soldier-farmers  to  the  fair  island  across 
the  Sound  which  perpetuates  his  name.  Here,  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  Indians,  he  began  the  first  English  settle- 
ment within  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of  New  York, 
calling  his  island  the  Isle  of  Wight.  His  sturdy  wife, 
whom  he  had  married  in  Holland,  had  borne  him  two 
children  while  at  Saybrook  Fort,  the  eldest,  a  boy,  being 
the  first  white  child  born  in  Connecticut.  Gardiner  was 
a  valiant  captain,  stout  of  heart,  and  sound  of  head.  He 
was  a  humorist,  too,  of  a  grim  sort.  When  some  of  the 
Bay  men  had  spoken  slightingly  of  Indian  arrows,  he 
sent  them  a  dead  man's  rib  with  an  arrow's  head,  which 
had  shot  through  the  body,  sticking  so  fast  in  the  bone 
that  none  could  withdraw  it.  He  was  firm  and  just  in  his 
dealings  with  the  Indians,  faithful  to  agreements,  relent- 
less in  warfare.  He  was  a  strategist,  often  circumventing 
the  wily  enemy  with  "  pretty  pranks,"  some  of  which  he 
related  in  his  old  age,  whereby  "  young  men  may  learn," 
that  they  "  may  with  such  pretty  pranks  preserve  them- 
selves from  danger ;  for  policy  is  needful  in  wars  as  well 
as  strength." 

John  Winthrop  the  younger  was  now  living  at  his 
Massachusetts  home  in  Ipswich,  concerned  in  other  than 
Connecticut  interests.  His  dwelling  at  Saybrook  Fort 
had  been  confined  to  a  few  months  or  weeks  in  1636. 
He  had  taken  no  steps  for  the  renewal  of  his  commission 
as  governor  for  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen  after  its  techni- 


70  Connecticut  River 

cal  expiration  in  1637 ;  but  the  term  still  held  with  him. 
He  did  not  come  permanently  to  reside  in  Connecticut  till 
1645  or  1646.  Then  he  fixed  his  home  in  the  conquered 
Pequot  country,  founding  New  London.  At  the  same 
time  he  had  a  summer  lodge  on  Fisher's  Island,  off  the 
mouth  of  Mystic  River,  in  the  Sound,  which  was  granted 
him  in  1640,  and  remained  a  preserve  of  the  Winthrop 
family  through  six  generations.  He  became  officially  con- 
nected with  the  Connecticut  colony  in  1651,  being  that  year 
chosen  one  of  the  higher  magistrates.  He  established  him- 
self at  Hartford  when  he  first  became  governor  of  the 
colony  in  1657,  after  having  lived  a  year  or  two  previ- 
ously at  New  Haven.  After  his  first  term  in  this  gover- 
norship he  was  deputy  governor.  Chosen  again  governor 
in  1659,  he  was  continued  in  the  executive  office  by  annual 
election  from  that  time  till  his  death  in  1676,  a  period  of 
sixteen  years.  He  was  through  his  prime  Connecticut's 
foremost  man.  In  culture  he  surpassed  his  remarkable 
father,  the  first  statesman  of  Massachusetts.  "■  Books 
furnished  employment  to  his  mind;  the  study  of  nature 
according  to  the  principles  of  the  philosophy  of  Bacon 
was  his  delight,  for  '  he  had  a  gift  in  understanding  and 
art.' "  He  was  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  at  its  foundation  in  London,  when 
modern  science  was  young.  He  was  "  one  of  the  greatest 
chymists  and  physicians  of  his  age,"  the  historian  Trum- 
bull notes.  He  was  amiable,  large  minded,  and  tactful  in 
affairs.  He  ''noiselessly  succeeded  in  all  that  he  under- 
took," says  Bancroft.  "  God  gave  him  favour  in  the  eyes 
of  all  with  whom  he  had  to  do,"  was  the  elder  Winthrop's 
pious  testimony.  He  ''  inherited  much  of  his  father's 
combination  of  audacity  with  velvet  tact,"  was  John 
Fiske's  more  modern  phrasing.     When  in  1661,  upon  the 


Saybrook  Fort  71 

Restoration,  he  was  chosen  as  the  colony's  agent  to  pre- 
sent their  petition  to  Charles  II  for  a  charter  under  the 
royal  seal,  "the  New  World  was  full  of  his  praises." 
"Puritan  and  Quaker,  and  the  freemen  of  Rhode  Island 
were  alike  his  eulogists;  the  Dutch  at  New  York  had 
confidence  in  his  integrity."  In  London,  enlisting  the 
powerful  influence  of  those  constant  friends  of  the  colonies, 
Lord  Say  and  Sele,  now  the  venerable  sole  survivor  of  the 
noblemen  interested  in  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen's  patent, 
and  the  Earl  of  Manchester,  now  Chamberlain  of  the 
King's  Household,  he  accomplished  his  mission  with  sur- 
prising ease.  The  king  received  him  and  the  petition 
"with  uncommon  grace  and  favour."  Fixed  in  history  is 
the  statement  that  the  king's  good  will  was  won  by  a 
clever  courtier-like  stroke.  "  Mr.  Winthrop  had  an  extra- 
ordinary ring  which  had  been  given  his  grandfather  by 
King  Charles  the  first,  which  he  presented  to  the  king. 
This,  it  is  said,  exceedingly  pleased  His  Majesty,  as  it  had 
been  the  property  of  a  father  most  dear  to  him."  So  runs 
the  legend.  But  this  is  apocryphal.  It  was  the  play  of 
the  skill  of  the  diplomat  rather  than  the  arts  of  the  cour- 
tier that  achieved  his  ends.  "  He  knew  at  once  how  to 
maintain  the  rights  and  claims  of  Connecticut  and  how  to 
make  Charles  II  think  him  the  best  fellow  in  the  world," 
says  Fiske.  So  he  secured  the  charter,  which,  passing  the 
seals  April  20,  1662,  confirmed  to  the  Connecticut  colony 
the  territory  covered  by  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen's  patent, 
and  the  right  to  govern  themselves,  precisely  as  they  had 
been  doing ;  and  summarily  annexed  to  them  the  neigh- 
boring New  Haven  colony,  much  to  the  disturbance  of  the 
latter' s  theocratic  party,  but  "  hailed  with  delight "  by 
"  the  disfranchised  minority."  This  was  the  charter  that 
a  quarter  century  after  was  hidden  from  Andros  in  the 


72  Connecticut  River 

Charter  Oak,  and  the  historical  duplicate  of  which,  in 
its  frame  of  wood  from  the  historic  tree,  is  now  displayed 
in  the  Hartford  State  House. 

Fenwick  maintained  his  independent  state  of  Saybrook 
till  the  end  of  1644.  Then  he  ceded  it  to  the  up-river 
colony  with  the  jurisdiction  of  the  entire  territory  claimed 
under  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen's  patent,  and  so  finis  was 
written  to  their  scheme.  Conditions  of  the  transfer  were 
the  payment  to  Fenwick  of  certain  duties  on  corn,  biscuit, 
beaver  skins,  and  live  stock  exported  from  the  River's 
mouth,  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  For  the  jurisdiction 
right,  or  the  "Old  Patent,"  the  colony  ultimately  paid 
1600  pounds  sterling ;  but  they  never  received  this  patent. 
Mr.  Fenwick  stipulated  to  deliver  it  "  if  it  come  into  his 
power."  Its  non-appearance  is  regarded  by  those  who 
have  questioned  its  existence  as  pretty  fair  evidence  for 
their  contention.  Subsequently,  when  seeking  the  royal 
charter,  the  colony  declared,  in  their  letter  to  Lord  Say 
and  Sele,  whose  aid  they  desired,  that  they  had  been 
forced  to  this  purchase  through  the  threat  of  Mr.  Fenwick, 
then  the  sole  patentee,  to  impose  duties  on  the  people,  or 
sell  the  patent  to  the  Dutch  unless  they  purchased  it. 
After  the  sale  Fenwick  became  one  of  the  magistrates  of 
the  colony.  About  1648,  on  returning  to  England,  he 
was  made  a  colonel  in  the  Parliamentary  army.  He  was 
chosen  a  member  of  Parliament,  and  named  one  of  the 
"high  Goviri  of  justice"  which  condemned  the  king.  In 
the  latter  body,  however,  he  failed  to  serve.  He  died  at 
Berwick,  while  governor  there,  in  1657. 

Fenwick' s  home  on  Saybrook  Point  was  described  by 
Thomas  Lechford  in  1641  as  a  "faire  house,"  well  forti- 
fied.    It  must  have  been  a  gracious   household   in  the 


Say  brook  Fort  73 

wilderness,  bestowing  a  refined  hospitality.  Lady  Fen- 
wick  was  a  gentlewoman,  born  Alice  Apsley,  daughter  of 
Sir  Edward  Apsley.  She  was  widow  of  Sir  John  Boteler 
when  she  married  "Master  Fenwicke,"  at  the  time  a 
lawyer  of  Gray's  Inn,  and  a  man  of  means.  With  them 
here  as  chaplain  was  the  then  youthful  John  Higginson, 
who  had  come  over  in  1629  with  his  father,  Francis 
Higginson,  first  minister  of  Salem  in  the  Bay  Colony,  and 
ancestor  of  the  Higginsons  in  America.  He  had  been  a 
teacher  at  Hartford,  living  with  Mr.  Hooker  as  "  student, 
helper,  and  scribe."  He  was  the  minister  afterward  long 
settled  at  Salem,  where  he  succeeded  his  father.  His 
ministry  there  continued  till  his  death  at  the  great  age  of 
ninety-three,  which  inspired  his  rhyming  eulogist  to  the 
elegant  lines :  — 

Young  to  the  pulpit  he  did  get 

And  Seventy-Two  Years  in't  did  sweat. 

After  seven  short  years  of  pioneer  life  the  gentle  Lady 
Fenwick  died,  leaving  with  her  husband  two  little  daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth  and  Dorothy,  both  born  in  the  fortified 
manor  house  on  Saybrook  Point.  Her  grave  was  made 
within  the  enclosure  of  the  fort.  For  years  after  a  mas- 
sive memorial  of  stone  in  an  open  field  on  the  spot  where 
the  first  settlers  had  lived  marked  the  lonely  tomb.  When 
the  iconoclasm  of  our  age  with  its  ruthless  sweep  threat^- 
ened  to  scatter  her  dust,  it  was  removed  to  a  protected 
place  in  the  old  burying  ground  at  the  Point,  near  the 
graves  of  seven  generations  of  her  descendants.  It  is 
related  that  when  the  remains  were  disinterred  for  this 
removal  "  the  skeleton  was  found  to  be  nearly  entire," 
and  beneath  the  skull  lay  "  a  heavy  braid  of  auburn  hair, 
which  was  parcelled  out  among  the  villagers. 


74  Connecticut  River 

The  first  Saybrook  Fort  stood  till  1647,  when,  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  during  a  tempestuous  night,  it  caught  fire, 
and  was  destroyed  with  all  the  buildings  inside  the  pali- 
sade, the  commandant  and  his  family  barely  escaping  with 
their  lives.  The  following  year  a  new  and  stouter  fortress 
was  erected  nearer  the  River's  bank.  This  was  the  fort 
the  surrender  of  which  to  the  government  of  the  Duke  of 
York  Andros  demanded  in  July,  1675,  when  "Captain 
Robert  Chapman  and  Captain  Bull  of  Hartford  so  ingeni- 
ously defended  the  rights  of  the  colony,"  that  the  enemy 
was  undone  without  a  shot.  It  is  a  pretty  story,  quite 
like  a  popular  historical  romance,  in  which  the  scenes 
move  forward  with  dramatic  precision,  and  the  characters 
appear  at  the  precise  moment  to  produce  a  thrilling 
situation. 

When  the  colony  had  word  of  the  intended  invasion, 
they  hastened  detachments  of  militia  to  Saybrook  and  New 
London,  for  both  places  were  threatened.  Captain  Thomas 
Bull  commanded  the  soldiery  despatched  down  the  River. 
While  they  are  yet  on  their  way,  the  Saybrook  folk  are 
surprised  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  Major  Andros  with 
an  armed  force  in  the  Sound,  "making  directly  for  the 
fort."  Without  instructions  from  the  government  as  to 
how  they  should  act  in  such  an  emergency,  they  are  for  a 
while  inert  and  gaze  helpless  upon  the  sight.  But  as 
their  surprise  abates,  "the  martial  spirit  begins  to  en- 
kindle." The  fort  is  manned  and  the  force  within  drawn 
up  in  battle  array.  At  this  critical  moment,  presto ! 
Captain  Bull  with  his  company  arrives.  Through  the 
next  two  days  the  work  of  preparing  fort  and  town  for 
defence  is  vigorously  pursued,  while  Andros' s  ships  remain 
quietly  off  shore.  Now  Andros  with  several  of  the  armed 
sloops   draws   up   before   the   fort.     The   king's    flag   is 


ri4 

o 
o 


O 


£2 
O 

H 


Saybrook  Fort  75 

hoisted,  and  formal  call  for  surrender  of  fort  and  town  is 
made.  Instantly  up  rises  His  Majesty's  flag  on  the  fort, 
and  Captain  Bull's  men  are  seen  arranged  in  warlike  order, 
"with  a  good  countenance,  determined  and  eager  for 
action."  Andros  dare  not  fire  on  the  king's  colors.  So 
he  lies  by  awaiting  reply  to  his  summons.  All  this  day 
and  part  of  the  next  his  fleet  are  held  off  against  the  fort. 
Meantime  the  Assembly  at  Hartford,  called  into  session 
by  the  critical  state  of  the  colony,  have  been  acting.  A 
protest  against  the  invasion  has  been  drawn  up  with  in- 
structions to  Captain  Bull.  He  is  authorized  to  propose  a 
reference  of  the  matter  in  controversy  to  commissioners 
who  shall  meet  in  any  place  in  the  colony  that  Andi"os 
may  choose.  The  instructions  have  been  entrusted  to  an 
"  express "  who  is  hurrying  down  the  River  to  deliver 
them.  On  the  morning  of  the  second  day  Andros  requests 
admittance  on  shore  and  an  interview  with  "  the  minis- 
ters and  chief  officer."  The  request  is  granted,  and  he 
comes  ashore  with  his  glittering  suite.  Presto  !  again  :  at 
this  very  moment  the  "  express  "  appears.  Captain  Bull, 
supported  by  his  own  officers  and  by  the  officers  and  gen- 
tlemen of  the  town,  meets  the  major  and  his  officers,  at 
the  landing,  and  salutations  are  exchanged.  Captain  Bull 
announces  his  receipt  that  moment  of  instructions  to  ten- 
der a  treaty,  with  the  proposal  to  refer  the  dispute  to 
commissioners  "  capable  of  determining  it  according  to 
law  and  justice."  Major  Andros  rejects  the  proposal,  and 
forthwith  commands  "  in  His  Majesty's  name,  that  the 
duke's  patent  and  the  commission  which  he  had  received 
from  his  royal  highness"  be  read.  Captain  Bull  com- 
mands also  in  the  king's  name,  that  he  "  forbear  reading." 
Andros' s  clerk  attempts  to  read,  when  the  captain  repeats 
his  command,  "  with  such  energy  and  voice  and  meaning 


76  Connecticut  River 

in  his  countenance  "  that  the  major  is  convinced  "  it  is 
not  safe  to  proceed."  The  reading  stayed,  the  captain 
informs  the  major  of  the  address  of  the  Assembly  and 
forthwith  reads  this  document.  At  its  conclusion  the 
major,  pleased  with  the  captain's  "bold  and  soldier-like 
appearance,"  asks  his  name. 

^'  My  name  is  Bull,  sir." 

"  Bull  ?  It  is  a  pity  that  your  horns  are  not  tipped  with 
silver." 

So  ends  the  parley.  The  major  gives  up  his  design  of 
seizing  the  fort,  and  is  escorted  to  his  boat  by  the  full 
body  of  the  militia  in  the  town.  Soon  after  his  fleet  sails 
away. 

The  original  palisade  extended  across  the  long  neck  of 
Saybrook  Point  and  protected  the  land  approaches  from  in- 
ciu-sions  of  the  Indians.  Westward  of  the  original  fort  a 
generous  square  was  laid  out,  in  which  were  to  be  placed 
the  houses  of  those  "  gentlemen  of  distinction  and  figure," 
Hazelrig,  Cromwell,  Hampden,  and  the  others  who  failed 
to  come  out.  Some  seventy  years  after,  midway  between 
the  palisade  and  the  fort,  was  erected  a  house  of  greater 
note.  This  was  the  home  of  the  collegiate  school,  in  which 
Yale  College  had  its  beginning.  In  this  long,  low,  one- 
story  structure,  the  embryo  university  spent  its  first  sixteen 
years.  Although  the  preliminary  steps  were  elsewhere 
taken,  here  in  1701  its  corporate  life  began,  and  here  its 
functions  were  exercised  till  the  removal  to  New  Haven 
was  accomplished. 

So  Yale  College  was  of  Connecticut  River  birth,  and 
the  pioneer  of  the  noble  line  of  higher  institutions 
that  now  occupy  its  banks  through  three  states,  in  their 
number   and   variety   giving   the   Connecticut   a   unique 


Saybrook  Fort  77 

distinction  among  American  rivers  as  a  seat  of  American 
colleges. 

It  was  no  fault  of  Saybrook  tbat  Yale  was  not  retained 
on  the  Connecticut.  The  decision  for  removal  stirred  Say- 
brook to  the  core,  and  roused  some  of  her  people  even  to 
open  resistance.  When  in  December,  1718,  three  months 
after  the  first  commencement  at  New  Haven  had  been  held, 
a  majority  of  the  trustees  attempted  to  remove  the  college 
library,  which  was  still  retained  in  Saybrook,  such  opposi- 
tion was  encountered  that  the  aid  of  the  governor  and  coun- 
cil was  invoked.  This  body  came  down  from  Hartford  and 
issued  a  warrant  to  the  sheriff  to  seize  the  books.  The 
officer  proceeded  to  his  duty,  but  found  the  house  where 
they  were  kept  barred  by  resolute  men  prepared  to  resist 
him.  Summoning  assistance,  he  at  length  forced  an  en- 
trance. Then  a  guard  was  placed  over  the  property  for 
the  night,  and  its  removal  to  New  Haven  was  set  for  the 
following  day.  In  the  morning  it  was  discovered  that  the 
carts  engaged  for  the  transportation  had  been  disabled  and 
their  horses  turned  adrift.  New  provisions  were  made,  and 
the  new  teams  started  off  under  the  escort  of  the  major  of 
the  county.  The  trials  of  the  movers,  however,  were  not 
yet  over.  Along  the  roads  their  progress  was  hindered 
through  the  absence  of  several  bridges  which  had  been 
broken  up.  They  finally  reached  New  Haven,  only  to  find 
on  counting  the  books  that  the  number  was  short  by  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The  missing  volumes,  says 
the  chronicler,  had  been  "  disposed  of  by  persons  unknown, 
together  with  some  valuable  papers,  in  the  confusion  which 
arose  at  the  taking  of  the  library,  and  no  discovery  of  them 
was  made  afterward." 

Even  after  the  institution  had  become  fully  fixed  at  New 
Haven  the  instruction  of  students  was  for  some  time  dog- 


78  Connecticut  River 

gedly  continued  at  Saybrook,  the  youths  appearing  in  New 
Haven  only  to  receive  their  degrees.  Others  obtained  their 
tuition  at  Hartford;  and  more  at  Wethersfield  (both  of 
which  towns  had  competed  for  the  college) ;  so  that  at  first 
more  than  half  of  the  students  of  the  new  Yale  were  in- 
structed outside  of  New  Haven,  and  in  the  River  towns, 
meeting  at  the  official  seat  of  the  college  only  on  com- 
mencement for  their  degrees.  Indeed,  at  Wethersfield  a 
commencement  was  held  and  degrees  conferred  on  the  very 
day  that  the  first  commencement  took  place  at  New  Haven. 
The  Wethersfield  degrees,  however,  were  subsequently  rati- 
fied at  New  Haven,  and  peace  succeeded  the  unhappy  dis- 
cord. As  President  Clap,  in  his  "  The  Annals  or  History 
of  Yale  College"  (1766),  quaintly  records:  ".  .  .  .  the 
Spirits  of  Men  began  by  Degrees  to  subside ;  and  a  general 
Harmony  was  gradually  introduced  among  the  Trustees, 
and  the  Colony  in  general.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Woodbridge 
[of  Hartford]  and  Mr.  Buckingham  [the  Saybrook  minis- 
ter :  the  two  chief  opponents  among  the  trustees  of  the 
New  Haven  seat]  became  very  friendly  to  the  college  and 
New  Haven,  and  forward  to  promote  all  its  Interests. 
The  Trustees  in  Testimony  of  their  Friendship  and  Regard 
to  Mr.  Woodbridge  chose  him  for  Rector  pro  Tempore ; 
and  he  accordingly  moderated  and  gave  Degrees  at  the 
commencement  Anno  1723." 

In  the  Saybrook  College  house  also  met,  it  is  supposed, 
the  synod  of  1708  which  formed  the  Saybrook  Platform, 
that  strict  ecclesiastical  code  the  adoption  of  which  by  the 
Legislature  fixed  upon  Connecticut  an  established  church. 
Thus  Congregationalism,  as  defined  in  this  document,  be- 
came the  religion  of  the  state  by  legislative  enactment,  and 
held  for  seventy-six  years,  making  "  dissenters  "  of  aU  not 


First  Site  of  Yale  College, 
Old  Saybrook. 


Say  brook  Fort  79 

conforming  to  it.  The  synod  was  composed  of  sixteen 
members,  twelve  ministers  and  four  laymen.  Eight  or 
nine  of  the  ministers  were  at  the  time  trustees  of  the  col- 
lege ;  and  the  assembly  convened  on  the  occasion  of  the 
annual  commencement.  Thus  the  association  of  synod  and 
college  was  intimate.  But  although  the  corporation  adoptr 
ed  the  code,  and  theological  instruction  predominated  for 
some  time  in  the  institution,  its  scope  gradually  broadened 
as  the  years  advanced,  more  in  conformity  with  the  plan  de- 
lined  in  its  charter,  —  for  "  instructing  youth  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  who  may  be  fitted  for  public  employment  both  in 
church  and  civil  state."  This  synod  was  the  third  coimcil, 
probably,  that  sat  at  Saybrook,  to  attempt  the  union  of 
church  and  state,  the  first  assembling  in  1668,  well  before 
the  foundation  of  the  college.  Its  Saybrook  Platform  was 
constructed,  formidably,  of  a  Confession  of  Faith,  Heads  of 
Agreement,  and  Fifteen  Articles  for  the  administration  of 
church  discipline.  The  discussions,  controversies,  and  hard- 
ships to  which  it  gave  rise  through  the  years  of  its  legal 
establishment  have  faded  into  oblivion,  and  to-day  the 
Saybrook  Platform  is  chiefly  interesting  as  the  first  book 
printed  in  Connecticut,  run  off  in  1710  at  New  London,  on 
the  printing  press  which  was  given  to  the  Colony  by  Gov- 
ernor Gurdon  Saltonstall,  great  grandson  of  Sir  Richard 
Saltonstall  of  the  Lords  and  Gentlemen's  project. 

A  vestige  of  Saybrook  Fort  remained  till  the  seventies 
of  the  nineteenth  centmry,  the  dominant  note  in  the  quiet 
landscape  at  this  point  of  the  River.  Then  all  was  swept 
away,  together  with  the  old  contours  of  the  site,  and  mod- 
em structures,  useful  but  unpicturesque,  occupied  the 
place. 


VII 

Early  Perils  of  Colonial  Life 

The  River  Settlements  of  the  Colonial  Period  —  Confined  to  the  Lower  Valley 
for  a  Century  —  The  First  Settlers  completely  environed  by  Savages  —  The 
Various  Tribes  and  their  Seats  —  The  Dominating  Pequots  —  Covert  Attacks 
upon  the  Settlers  —  Massacre  of  Captains  Stone  and  Norton  with  their  Ship's 
Crew. — The  Killing  of  John  Oldham  off  Block  Island. — Avenged  by  Captain 
John  Gallop  —  The  "  Earliest  Sea-Fight  of  the  Nation  "  — A  Graphic  Colo- 
nial Sea-Story. 

COLONIAL  life  on  the  River  was  confined  for  a  cen- 
tury to  the  Lower  Valley  in  Connecticut  and  Massa- 
chusetts. Till  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  it 
was  narrowed  to  Windsor,  Hartford,  Wethersfield,  and  Say- 
brook  of  the  Connecticut  Colony  and  Springfield  alone  in 
the  Massachusetts  jurisdiction.  Springfield  was  then  the 
uppermost  Valley  settlement,  at  the  frontier  of  the  Wilder- 
ness. By  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  only  four 
River  towns  had  been  added  to  the  Connecticut  Colony, 
and  eight  had  been  formed  in  the  Massachusetts  limits. 
These  were  Middletown,  East  Haddam,  Haddam,  and  Lyme 
in  Connecticut,  and  Northampton,  Hadley,  Hatfield,  Deer- 
field,  Northfield,  Westfield,  Suffield,  and  Enfield  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Middletown,  when  established  in  1653,  was  the 
first  connecting  link  between  the  up-river  towns  and  Say- 
brook.  East  Haddam,  below,  on  the  east  side  of  the  River, 
was  begun  a  decade  later ;  Haddam,  on  the  west  side,  in 
1668 ;  and  Lyme  the  previous  year,  cut  in  part  from  Say- 
brook.     Of  the  added  Massachusetts  group,  Northampton 

80 


Early  Perils  of  Colonial  Life  81 

was  the  chief  settlement  and  was  nearly  as  old  as  the  Con- 
necticut Middletown,  having  been  founded  in  1653.  Had- 
ley,  on  the  east  side,  was  begun  in  1661 ;  Hatfield  and 
Deerfield,  on  the  west  side,  in  1670  and  1671 ;  and  North- 
field,  at  the  northern  frontier,  in  1673.  But  Deerfield  and 
Northfield  were  both  destroyed  in  King  Philip's  War  of 
1675-76,  and  Deerfield  was  not  permanently  resettled  till 
1682,  while  Northfield  remained  unoccupied  till  after 
the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century,  an  attempt  at  re- 
settlement in  1685  having  failed.  Westfield,  Enfield  and 
Sufiield  were  taken  from  Springfield's  original  domain 
extending  over  both  sides  of  the  River.  The  first  was  or- 
ganized in  1669,  the  others  in  1680  and  1681  respectively, 
though  laid  out  a  decade  earlier.  Enfield  and  Sufiield 
passed  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  to  the  Con- 
necticut Colony  in  1752,  upon  the  settlement  of  years  of 
dispute  between  the  two  colonies  over  the  boundary  line. 

Till  well  toward  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
the  Valley  above  the  north  Massachusetts  line,  through 
New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  for  the  most  part  remained 
the  Wilderness.  Only  the  hunter  and  the  trapper,  the  sol- 
dier and  the  Indian  captive  borne  off  to  far  away  Canada, 
had  penetrated  its  vast  solitudes,  bringing  back  —  they 
who  did  get  back  —  entrancing  tales  of  its  beauty  and 
riches.  Till  1723  Northfield,  embracing  its  present  neigh- 
bor Vernon,  of  Vermont,  and  part  of  Hinsdale,  New  Hamp- 
shire, was  the  outmost  English  post. 

The  earliest  records  of  the  River  are  of  encounters  with 
the  aborigines.  Very  soon  after  the  English  establishment 
in  the  lower  Valley,  tragic  conflicts  with  them  arose. 
When  the  English  first  came  the  Indians  of  Connecticut 
were  more  numerous  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the 
territory  than  in  any  other  part  of  New  England.     Neither 


82  Connecticut  River 

wars  nor  pestilence  had  so  depopulated  this  region  as  some 
other  parts  of  the  Eastern  country.  How  completely  the 
savages  environed  the  early  River  settlers  appears  when 
the  tribes  and  their  seats  are  enumerated. 

Scattered  on  both  sides  between  the  River's  mouth  and 
Windsor  were  the  various  native  tribes  whom  the  Pequot 
invaders  had  vanquished  some  time  about  1630,  and  whose 
domains  they  were  holding  as  conquered  territory.  These 
tribes,  before  their  vanquishment,  are  presumed  to  have 
been  confederated  under  Altarbaenhoot,  or  Netawanute,  the 
banished  sachem  whom  the  Plymouth  Colony's  expedition 
restored  to  his  seat  at  Windsor  in  1633.  They  embraced 
the  bands  that  Block  in  1614  described  as  the  "nation 
called  Sequins,"  with  their  lodges  on  both  sides  of  the  River 
at  or  above  the  great  bend  at  Middletown ;  and  the  Nawaas 
with  their  fortified  town  at  South  Windsor.  When  the 
first  English  colonists  came  the  Sequins  were  occupying 
"neutral  ground"  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
Dutch  House  of  Hope.  This  ground  was  so  called  in 
accordance  with  the  agreement  when  the  Dutch  made  their 
purchase  from  the  Pequot  sachem,  four  years  before  the 
restoration  of  Netawanute,  that  these  lands  should  be 
exempt  from  Indian  warfare.  According  to  J.  Hammond 
Trumbull,  the  Sequins  were  the  Indians  subsequently 
called  by  the  English  the  Wongunks,  from  their  principal 
seat  about  the  River's  bend  between  Middletown  and  Port- 
land. Their  territory,  Mr.  Trumbull  believes,  extended 
from  the  north  part  of  Haddam,  northerly,  on  both  sides 
of  the  River,  to  some  distance  above  Windsor.  The  Se- 
qeen  chief,  probably  he  who  was  known  to  the  English  as 
Sowheag,  variously  designated  as  "  sachem  of  the  Matta- 
beseck,"  which  became  Middletown,  and  "  sachem  of 
Pyquang,"    where    Wethersfield    was    planted,    had    his 


.a 

5 


Early  Perils  of  Colonial  Life  83 

"  castle  "  at  Mattabeseck,  overlooking  the  broad  doniain 
over  which  in  his  time  he  had  been  lord.  At  Machemoodus, 
which  became  East  Haddam,  dwelt  a  numerous  sub-tribe 
"famous  for  pawaws,"  or  powwows,  and  ''worshipping 
evil  spirits." 

Above  Windsor  were  the  Pocumtucks,  the  leading  tribe, 
according  to  George  Sheldon,  historian  of  Deerfield,  of  a 
powerful  confederation  occupying  and  dominating  the  Val- 
ley and  its  tributaries  as  far  north  as  Brattleborough, 
Vermont.  Sub-tribes  or  allies  of  the  Pocumtucks  from  the 
region  of  Windsor  up  the  River  were :  the  Tunxis  on  the 
Farmington  River,  at  and  near  its  confluence  with  the  Con- 
necticut ;  the  Podunks,  seated  near  Windsor ;  the  Aga- 
wams,  whose  principal  seat  was  at  Springfield,  and  who 
claimed  the  territory  on  both  sides  of  the  River  between 
Enfield  Falls  and  South  Hadley  Falls;  the  Warranokes, 
west  of  Springfield,  with  their  chief  village  at  the  present 
Westfield  on  the  Agawam,  now  Westfield,  River ;  and  the 
Naunawatucks,  or  Nonatucks,  situated  on  both  sides  of  the 
River  at  Northampton  and  Hadley,  with  their  village  and 
their  forts,  the  principal  forts  being  near  the  mouth  of 
Half -Way  Brook,  between  Northampton  and  Hadley,  and 
on  a  ridge  between  Hadley  meadows.  The  Pocumtucks 
centered  in  the  Deerfield  Valley,  and  were  most  thickly 
settled  about  the  mouth  of  the  Deerfield  River  in  Deerfield, 
where  was  their  principal  fort  on  what  is  yet  called  Fori 
Hill.  Northward  were  the  Squakheags,  occupying  jointly 
with  the  Pocumtucks  the  territory  now  of  Northfield,  Ver- 
non, Vermont,  and  Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire,  —  a  fugitive 
band  from  the  Hudson  River,  Sheldon  is  led  to  believe. 
They  were  probably,  he  says,  a  fragment  of  the  Mahicans, 
driven  away  from  their  original  homes  by  the  Mohawks  of 
the  Five  Nations  in  1610. 


84  Connecticut  River 

The  Valley  in  what  are  now  New  Hampshire  and  Ver- 
mont was  unoccupied  as  the  seat  of  any  considerable  body 
of  natives.  It  was  rather  a  thoroughfare  between  con- 
tending powerful  tribes.  Vermont  was  a  beaver  hunting 
ground  of  the  Iroquois,  the  confederated  Five  Nations. 

The  warring  Pequots  were  seated  east  of  the  River's 
mouth,  on  the  coast,  chiefly  between  the  Thames  and  the 
Mj^stic  Rivers.  They  were  also  a  branch  of  the  Hudson- 
River  Mahicans,  driven  out  by  the  Mohawks.  Fighting 
their  way  to  the  coast  before  the  coming  of  Block,  they  had 
taken  possession  of  part  of  the  territory  of  the  Niantic 
tribe  on  both  sides  of  the  Mystic.  By  the  time  the  English 
had  come  these  Pequots  had  subdued  and  held  tributary 
besides  the  Niantics  and  the  lower  Connecticut  Valley 
tribes,  the  Block  Island  Indians,  and  several  tribes  upon 
Long  Island.  West  of  the  Thames  River  and  north  of  the 
Pequots  dwelt  the  Mohegans  (as  they  came  to  be  known 
after  the  settlement  of  the  English),  an  offshoot  of  the 
Pequots.  Their  sagamore  was  that  Uncas  who  became  the 
staunch  ally  of  the  English,  and  attained  great  power  in 
colonial  Indian  affairs  which  lasted  for  more  than  forty 
years.  He  was  heir  apparent  to  the  Pequot  sachemdom 
through  the  female  line,  his  mother  being  aunt  to  Wapeg- 
woot,  the  reigning  sachem  at  the  time  of  the  first  Eng- 
lish move  to  the  River.  Having  grown  proud,  and, 
it  was  said,  treacherous  to  the  reigning  sachem,  he  had 
suffered  repeated  humblings  at  the  chief's  hands.  Again 
and  again  he  had  been  driven  from  his  country,  and  per- 
mitted to  return  only  upon  promise  of  submission.  Dur- 
ing one  of  his  seasons  of  banishment,  according  to  J. 
Hammond  Trumbull,  he,  or  some  of  his  people,  became 
connected  with  the  Nawaas  up  the  River.  Such  was  the 
situation   at   the   beginning  of   the  English   settlements. 


Early  Perils  of  Colonial  Life  85 

After  Wapegwoot  was  slain,  Uncas  had  made  claim  to  the 
Pequot  sachemdom,  but  the  '^  ambitious,  cruel,  and  agres- 
sive  "  Sassacus  (significant  name),  son  of  Wapegwoot,  was 
elevated  to  the  place.  Under  Sassacus  were  twenty-six 
minor  sachems,  or  war  captains.  The  Pequot  and  Mohe- 
gan  country  covered  a  tract  of  nearly  thirty  square  miles. 

East  of  the  Pequots  were  the  Narragansetts,  occupying 
what  became  Rhode  Island,  and  then  the  largest  tribe  in 
New  England.  They  were  the  only  Indians  in  the  vicin- 
ity whom  the  Pequots  had  not  subdued,  and  perpetual  war 
existed  between  the  two  tribes.  Of  the  Narragansetts, 
Miantonomo,  a  wily  fellow,  nephew  of  Canonicus,  the  chief 
sachem,  was  the  ruling  spirit.  In  the  northeast  part  of 
Connecticut  and  in  central  Massachusetts  were  the  Nip- 
mucks,  scattered  in  small  clans.  At  Brookfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, through  which  the  "  Bay  Path "  subsequently 
ran,  were  the  Quabaugs,  classed,  Sheldon  says,  as  sub- 
jects both  of  Uncas  and  the  Deerfield  Pocumtucks,  but 
finally  absorbed  by  the  Nipmucks.  The  inland  Connecti- 
cut tribes  west  of  the  River  were  tributary  to  the  Mohawks 
who  had  brought  their  conquests  thus  far  eastward. 

While  the  River  tribes  generally  welcomed  the  English 
colonists  as  possible  allies  against  the  Pequots,  and,  to  fortify 
their  friendship,  performed  at  first  many  acts  of  kindness  to- 
ward the  newcomers,  the  dominating  Pequots  were  hostile 
from  the  outset.  These  imperious  princes  of  the  soil  viewed 
the  English  as  interlopers  whose  advance  must  be  checked 
in  a  region  which  had  become  their  own  by  the  right 
above  all  others  to  the  savage  mind  —  the  right  of  con- 
quest. Moreover,  the  Englishmen  had  defied  them  by  re- 
storing River  sachems  whom  they  had  conquered  to  the 
authority  which  they  had  overthrown  and  the  territory 
which  they  had  made  their  own.     Their  hostility  was  dis- 


86  Connecticut  River 

played  not  in  open  warfare,  but  in  covert  attacks  upon  ex- 
posed settlers,  and  in  inciting  the  depending  tribes  to  ra- 
pine and  murder.  Besides  these  perils  from  an  insidious 
foe,  tribal  jealousies  and  the  treacherous  Indian  nature 
rendered  the  situation  of  the  colonists  most  hazardous  at 
the  beginning  of  their  settlements,  and  they  were  forced  to 
be  perpetually  on  guard. 

So  early  as  1634,  before  the  greater  immigration  to  the 
River  had  begun,  an  act  was  committed  which  led  to  grave 
results.  This  was  the  murder  of  the  two  traders,  Captains 
Stone  and  Norton,  and  their  ship's  crew  of  eight  men,  by 
Indians  of  a  tribe  in  confederacy  with  the  Pequots. 

The  mariners  were  from  St.  Christopher,  West  Indies, 
and  had  come  into  the  River  bound  for  the  Dutch  House 
of  Hope  to  trade.  Somewhere  above  the  River's  mouth 
they  were  met  with  friendly  demonstrations  by  the  Indians, 
several  of  whom  were  known  to  Captain  Stone  from  previ- 
ous trading  visits.  Engaging  two  or  three  of  them  to  pi- 
lot two  of  his  men  to  the  Dutch  House  in  a  skiff,  he  laid  his 
ship  to  the  shore.  The  voyagers  in  the  skiff  paddled  on 
cheerfully  till  nightfall,  when,  hauling  their  boat  against 
the  shore,  the  two  sailors  ciu-led  up  to  sleep.  So  soon  as 
slumber  was  upon  them  their  guides  rose  stealthily  and 
killed  them  both  without  a  struggle.  Meanwhile  the  ship 
below  had  been  boarded  by  others  of  the  band  whom  the 
crew  were  entertaining.  At  length  Captain  Stone  fell 
asleep  in  his  cabin.  At  a  moment  when  most  of  the  crew 
were  ashore  these  Indians  silently  took  the  captain's  life. 
Casting  a  covering  over  him  to  conceal  their  work,  they 
joined  the  remainder  of  the  band,  who  fell  upon  the  crew 
and  massacred  them  all.  Captain  'Norton,  however,  had 
escaped  them.     Pinned  in  the  cook-room  he  made  a  long 


Early  Perils  of  Colonial  Life  87 

and  resolute  fight  for  his  life,  which  an  accident  brought 
to  an  end.  "  That  he  might  load  and  fire  with  the  great- 
est expedition  he  had  placed  powder  in  an  open  vessel  near 
at  hand."  In  the  height  of  the  action  the  powder  took 
fire,  and  the  explosion  so  burned  and  blinded  him  that 
"  after  all  his  gallantry  he  fell  with  his  helpless  compan- 
ions." The  plunder  which  was  taken  from  the  vessel  was 
divided  between  the  sachem  Sassacus  and  the  head  sachem 
of  the  tribe  to  which  the  band  belonged. 

It  was  shortly  after  this  affair  that  the  Pequots  sought 
the  Massachusetts  Bay  government  for  a  league  of  peace, 
their  messengers  bearing  gifts  to  Boston  to  foster  the 
scheme.  The  crafty  move  was  in  part  to  offset  the  possi- 
ble consequence  of  their  connection  with  this  massacre. 
Another  object  was  to  checkmate  the  Narragansetts,  who 
were  at  the  time  warring  fiercely  upon  them,  and  with 
whom  the  Bay  men  had  friendly  relations.  Another  was  to 
get  support  against  the  Dutch,  who,  in  avenging  the  Pe- 
quots' acts,  had  killed  several  of  their  fighting  men  in- 
cluding a  sachem.  The  Bay  men  at  first  would  listen  to 
their  proposals  only  on  condition  that  they  should  agree  to 
deliver  up  Captain  Stone's  murderers.  But  after  assur- 
ances that  all  but  two  of  the  band  were  dead  and  that  the 
survivors  if  guilty  would  be  punished ;  and  after  offers  had 
been  made  to  concede  all  their  rights  in  the  River  region 
to  the  Bay  Colony,  and  promises  had  been  given  to  hand 
over  "  four  hundred  fathoms  of  wampum,  forty  beaver  and 
thirty  other  skins  "  as  compensation  for  the  slaughter  of 
the  Englishmen,  —  after  these  explanations  and  conditions 
the  Bay  men  entered  into  the  treaty  desired.  The  articles 
were  drawn  up  and  duly  signed.  But  no  hostages  were 
taken  to  secure  the  fulfillment  of  the  conditions,  and  the 
Pequots  never  performed  a  single  one  of  them. 


88  Connecticut  River 

By  the  summer  of  1636  their  depredations  had  been  re- 
newed with  more  vigor.  The  crowning  barbarous  act  of 
this  season  was  the  killing  of  Captain  John  Oldham,  the 
pioneer  English  trader  in  the  Valley  and  leader  in  the 
planting  of  Wethersfield.  Oldham  had  been  "  long  out 
a-trading  "  in  his  pinnace,  having  with  him  two  English 
boys  and  two  Narragansett  Indians ;  and  when  off  Block 
Island  he  was  suddenly  overwhelmed  by  a  crowd  of  savages 
who  "  cleft  his  head  to  the  brains."  Then  they  secured  his 
companions  and  proceeded  to  remove  the  plunder  from  the 
vessel.  Fortunately,  while  thus  busied,  they  were  sighted 
from  a  distance  by  another  Englishman  cruising  off  the 
Sound  in  a  little  bark  with  a  crew  of  one  man  and  two 
boys.  This  was  Captain  John  Gallop,  the  famous  first  pi- 
lot of  Boston  Harbor,  for  whom  Gallop's  Island  there  is 
named.  He  had  been  up  our  River  and  was  intending  to 
put  in  at  Long  Island  to  trade,  but  was  forced  by  a  sud- 
den change  in  the  wind  to  bear  up  for  Block  Island.  When 
he  espied  the  pinnace  he  drew  toward  it  and  discovered  it 
to  be  John  Oldham's.  The  deck  was  seen  to  be  "  full  of 
Indians."  He  was  in  hailing  distance  before  they  were 
aware  of  his  presence.  Then  ensued  a  gallant  chase,  finish- 
ing with  swift  retribution  upon  the  chief  actors  in  the 
tragedy.  Cooper,  in  his  Naval  History  of  the  United  States, 
describes  this  engagement  as  "  the  earliest  sea-fight  of  the 
nation."  Winthrop,  senior,  gives  the  tale,  —  a  terse  and 
graphic  sea-story  in  his  telling : 

So  they  [the  Gallop  party]  hailed,  but  had  no  answer ;  and  the 
deck  was  full  of  Indians  (fourteen  in  all),  and  a  canoe  was  gone 
from  her  full  of  Indians  and  goods.  Whereupon  they  suspected  that 
they  had  killed  John  Oldham,  and  the  rather,  because  the  Indians 
let  slip,  and  set  up  sail,  being  two  miles  from  shore,  and  the  wind 
and  tide  being  off  the  shore  of  the  Island,  whereby  they  drove  to- 


Early  Perils  of  Colonial  Life  89 

ward  the  main  at  Narragansett.  Whereupon  they  [the  Gallop  party] 
went  ahead  of  them,  and  having  but  two  pieces  and  two  pistols,  and 
nothing  but  duck  shot,  they  bear  up  near  the  Indians  (who  stood 
ready  armed  with  guns,  pikes,  and  swords)  and  let  fly  among  them, 
and  so  galled  them  that  they  all  gate  under  hatches.  Then  they 
stood  off  again,  and  retiring  with  a  good  gale,  they  stemmed  her  upon 
the  quarter  and  about  overset  her,  which  so  frightened  the  Indians 
that  six  of  them  leaped  overboard  and  were  drowned.  Yet  they 
durst  not  board  her,  but  stood  off  again,  and  fitted  their  anchor  so 
as,  stemming  her  the  second  time  there,  bored  her  boom  [bow] 
through  with  their  anchor,  and  so  sticking  fast  to  her,  they  made 
divers  shot  through  her  (being  but  inch  board),  and  so  raked  her 
fore  and  aft,  as  they  must  needs  kill  or  hurt  some  of  the  Indians ; 
but,  seeing  none  of  them  came  forth,  they  gate  loose  from  her  and 
stood  off  again.  Then  four  or  five  more  of  the  Indians  leaped  into 
the  sea  and  were  likewise  drowned. 

So  there  being  now  but  four  left  in  her,  they  boarded  her; 
whereupon  one  Indian  came  up  and  yielded ;  him  they  bound  and 
put  into  hold.  Then  another  yielded,  whom  they  bound.  But  John 
Gallop,  being  well  acquainted  with  their  skill  to  untie  themselves  if 
two  of  them  be  together,  and  having  no  place  to  keep  them  asunder, 
they  threw  him  [last]  bound  into  the  sea ;  and  looking  about  they 
found  John  Oldham  under  an  old  seine  stark  naked,  his  head  cleft  to 
the  brains,  and  his  hand  and  legs  cut  off,  as  if  they  had  been  cutting 
them  off,  and  yet  warm.  So  they  put  him  into  the  sea ;  but  could 
not  get  to  the  other  two  Indians,  who  were  in  a  little  room  under- 
neath, with  their  swords.  So  they  took  the  goods  which  were  left, 
and  the  sails,  etc.,  and  towed  the  boat  away ;  but  night  coming  on, 
and  the  wind  rising,  they  were  forced  to  turn  her  off,  and  the  wind 
carried  her  to  the  Narragansett  shore. 

The  principal  contrivers  of  Oldham's  death  were  found 
to  have  been  the  Block  Island  Indians  with  a  number  of 
under  sachems  of  the  Narragansetts,  to  whom  the  Block 
Islanders  were  at  this  juncture  subject.  But  the  Pequots 
were  considered  as  abettors  in  the  affair,  since  several  of 
the  participants  fled  to  them  and  received  their  protection. 
The  Narragansett  chiefs,  Canonicus  and  Miantonomo,  sue- 


90  Connecticut  River 

cessfully  cleared  themselves  from  connection  with  the  con- 
spiracy, and  aided  in  the  recovery  of  the  two  boys,  with 
part  of  the  plunder  from  Oldham's  vessel. 

The  responsibility  was  at  last  fixed  upon  the  Block 
Islanders  and  the  Pequots,  drastic  measures  were  adopted 
by  the  Bay  Colony  government,  and  the  first  Pequot  War 
ensued. 


VIII 

The  Pequot  Wars 

First  Expedition  from  the  Bay  Colony  under  Endicott  —  Lion  Gardiner's  Practi- 
cal Advice  —  Plot  to  Destroy  the  River  Settlements  —  Tragedies  on  the  River 

—  The  Connecticut  Colony's  Campaign — The  "Army  "  drawn  from  the 
Three  River  Towns  —  Major  John  Mason,  the  Myles  Standish  of  the  Colony 

—  Hooker's  Godspeed  at  the  Embarkation  —  Scene  on  the  down-river  Voy- 
age —  Debate  of  the  Captains  at  Saybrook  Fort  —  Mason's  Master-Stroke 

—  The  March  in  the  Enemy's  Country  —  Burning  of  Mystic  Fort  —  End  of 
the  Pequots. 

TOWARD  the  close  of  August  (1636)  John  Endicott 
as  general,  with  a  force  of  ninety  men,  four  command- 
ers, and  two  Indians,  was  despatched  from  Massachusetts 
Bay  under  a  commission,  truly  termed  sanguinary : 

"  To  put  to  death  the  men  of  Block  Island,  but  to  spare  the  women 
and  children,  and  bring  them  away,  and  to  take  possession  of  the 
Island ;  and  from  thence  to  go  to  the  Pequods  [Pequots]  to  demand 
the  murderers  of  Captain  Stone  and  other  English,  and  one  thou- 
sand fathoms  of  wampum  for  damages  etc.,  and  some  of  their  chil- 
dren as  hostages,  which  if  they  shotild  refuse  they  were  to  obtain  it 
[them]  by  force." 

Captain  John  Underhill  was  the  first  named  of  the  four 
commanders.  The  troops  embarked  in  three  pinnaces,  and 
carried  two  shallops.  The  Indians  were  taken  as  inter- 
preters. 

The  expedition  made  first  for  Saybrook  Fort,  where  it 
duly  arrived  to  the  surprise  of  Lion  Gardiner,  and  also  to 
his  dismay  when  informed  by  the  officers  of  their  errand 

91 


92  Connecticut  River 

and  of  their  intention  to  make  the  fort  their  rendezvous. 
He  gave  them  a  soldier's  welcome,  however,  while  stoutly 
discountenancing  their  adventure.  ''  You  come  hither," 
said  he,  "  to  raise  these  wasps  about  my  ears,  and  then  you 
will  take  wing  and  flee  away,"  —  which  was  precisely  what 
happened.  When  he  had  seen  their  commission,  at  which 
he  "  wondered,"  he  entreated  them  to  heed  this  advice : 
"  Sirs,  seeing  you  will  go,  I  pray  you  if  you  don't  load  your 
barks  with  Pequots,  load  them  with  corn,  for  that  is  now 
gathered  with  them  ready  to  put  into  their  barns,  and  both 
you  and  we  have  need  of  it  ...  .  If  you  cannot  attain 
your  end  of  the  Pequots  yet  you  may  load  your  barks 
with  "  that  "  which  will  be  welcome  to  Boston  and  tome," 
—  most  practical  advice,  for  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts 
were  then  both  short  of  a  com  supply.  To  aid  in  this  part 
of  the  enterprise  Gardiner  agreed  to  send  some  men  from 
the  fort  in  his  own  shallop. 

The  assault  on  Block  Island  took  place  according  to 
programme,  but  without  the  slaughter  directed  by  the  com- 
mission. As  the  force  approached  the  island  and  were 
disembarking,  a  little  crowd  of  Indians  assembled  on  shore 
at  a  safe  distance  "  entertained  "  them  with  arrows ;  which 
fell  harmlessly  against  the  corslets  of  all  save  two,  who 
were  pricked  on  the  exposed  parts  of  their  bodies.  But 
when  the  landing  was  effected  the  Indians  incontinently 
fled,  and  not  a  single  one  was  afterward  seen,  though  two 
days  were  spent  on  the  island.  Two  hastily  deserted  vil- 
lages were  found,  three  miles  apart,  and  neighboring  acres 
of  corn,  some  of  it  gathered  and  laid  in  heaps.  So,  in  the 
absence  of  men  to  kill  and  women  and  children  to  capture, 
all  the  wigwams  were  burnt,  and  much  of  the  corn  ;  aU  the 
canoes  found  were  broken  up;  and  trophies  were  taken, 
among  them  "  many  well  wrought  mats  and  delightful  bas- 
kets." 


The  Pequot  Wars  98 

Returning  to  Saybrook  Fort  the  fleet  lay  windbound 
here  for  four  days.  Then  the  start  was  made  for  the  Pe- 
quot country.  The  miniature  army  sailed,  strengthened 
by  twelve  of  Gardiner's  men  in  his  shallop,  whose  especial 
part  was  to  take  off  the  enemy's  corn.  As  they  neared  the 
Thames,  then  the  Pequot  River,  "  multitudes  "  of  Indians 
ran  along  the  shore  shouting  tauntingly,  "  What  cheer, 
Englishmen !  What  cheer !  Do  you  come  to  fight  us  ? " 
The  night  of  their  arrival  they  spent  in  New  London,  then 
Pequot  harbor,  while  the  Indians  kept  fires  aglow  on  both 
sides  to  prevent  a  landing  under  cover  of  darkness.  In 
the  morning  a  Pequot  messenger,  —  a  "  grave  senior  ma- 
jestical  in  his  bearing,"  —  came  out  in  a  canoe  and  de- 
manded "  what  they  were  and  what  they  would  have  ? " 
Endicott  stated  their  mission.  The  "  ambassador "  de- 
clared that  Sassacus,  the  chief,  was  away  at  Long  Island. 
Endicott  bade  him  inform  the  other  sachems  that  he  would 
meet  them.  The  Indian  lingered  debating  the  matter. 
The  Stone  affair,  he  would  explain,  was  in  retaliation  for  the 
killing  of  a  sachem  and  other  Pequots  by  the  Dutch,  and 
it  was  directed  by  the  murdered  sachem's  son.  It  did  not 
concern  the  English.  At  length  he  agreed  to  seek  the 
other  sachems,  and  paddling  back  to  the  shore  disappeared 
over  the  bluff  at  its  edge.  Meanwhile  the  "  army  "  landed 
and  ascended  to  the  bluff.  In  course  of  time  the  messen- 
ger returned,  and  with  him  some  three  hundred  savages 
who  gathered  about  the  English.  The  messenger  reported 
that  "  Sassacus  "  himself  would  be  back  in  three  hours. 
So  they  waited,  many  of  the  savages  idling  with  Gardiner's 
men  whom  they  knew.  The  three  hours  passed,  and  a 
fourth.  Yet  "there  came  none."  All  this  time  the  people 
in  the  Indian  villages  behind  were  hurrying  their  goods 
into  hiding,  and  their  women  and  children  to  places  of 
safety. 


94  Connecticut  River 

At  length  Endicott  drew  his  men  into  line,  caused  his 
commission  to  be  proclaimed,  and  ordered  the  messenger 
back  to  his  sachem  with  the  word  that  if  he  would  not  at 
once  come  to  parley,  the  English  would  fight.  Then  the 
Avily  savage  shifted  his  ground.  The  sachem  would  appear 
if  the  Englishmen  would  lay  down  their  arms  some  paces 
in  their  front,  where  the  Indians  would  lay  down  their 
arrows.  But  Endicott,  seeing  perhaps  in  this  a  pretty 
strategem  to  get  possession  of  their  weapons,  bade  the 
throng  "  begone  and  shift  for  themselves."  They  had 
dared  the  English  to  come  and  fight,  and  his  men  were  here 
and  ready.  Then  the  Indians  all  instantly  vanished.  With 
colors  flying  and  drums  beating,  the  English  took  up  the 
pursuit.  But  not  a  single  Indian  was  seen  again,  though 
arrows  rained  upon  the  soldiers  from  behind  thickets  and 
rocks  as  they  advanced.  No  harm  was  done  them,  for 
their  corslets  protected  them  as  at  Block  Island.  They 
kept  up  a  lively  fire  in  the  directions  from  which  the  arrows 
came.  Reaching  a  village  they  burnt  all  of  its  wigwams. 
At  simset  they  returned  to  their  boats.  Next  morning  they 
were  ashore  again,  on  the  west  side,  burning  wigwams  and 
spoiling  all  the  canoes  found  there ;  the  while  not  en- 
coimtering  an  Indian  in  the  open. 

Thus  their  campaign  ended.  They  did  not  go  back  to 
Saybrook,  but  returned  to  Boston  by  way  of  the  Narragan- 
sett  country.  They  had  suffered  no  loss  or  serious  injury 
to  any  man  of  the  expedition.  According  to  Gardiner  they 
killed  not  one  of  the  enemy,  but  one  of  the  Massachusetts 
Indians  who  accompanied  them  took  a  Pequot  scalp.  The 
Narragansetts,  however,  afterward  told  of  a  small  Pequot 
loss.  Gardiner's  men  returned  to  Saybrook  Fort  with  a 
fair  cargo  of  captured  corn,  after  a  little  scrimmage  of 
their  own  on  the  way  back  with  pursuing  Pequots,  in 


The  Pequot  Wars  95 

which  two  of  the  English  and  more  of  the  Indians  wiere 
hurt. 

And  so  the  wasps  were  raised  about  the  ears  of  the 
River  settlers.  The  Pequots,  now  enraged,  determined  to 
drive  the  English  out.  Say  brook  fort  was  soon  in  almost 
constant  seige.  Numbers  of  the  garrison  were  killed  from 
ambuscades  while  at  work  in  the  fields  outside.  In  one 
brisk  swamp-fight  Gardiner  was  wounded,  though  saved 
from  severe  hurt  by  his  buff  coat.  A  member  of  a  party 
attacked  while  harvesting  hay  was  captured  and  roasted 
alive.  Captives  taken  in  raids  were  tortured  to  death  in 
various  hideous  ways.  Navigating  the  River  became  so 
perilous  that  all  boats  on  entering  the  mouth  were  required 
to  come  to  anchor  at  Saybrook  Fort,  and  were  not  allowed 
to  proceed  till  Gardiner  had  satisfied  himself  that  they 
were  sufficiently  armed  and  manned.  They  were  not  al- 
lowed to  make  landing  between  the  fort  and  Wethersfield. 
Small  parties  in  shallops,  though  armed,  were  attacked  be- 
tween these  points  and  massacred.  Joseph  Tilly,  master 
of  a  small  trading  vessel  from  Boston,  which  he  had  an- 
chored two  or  three  miles  above  Saybrook,  was  "  a-fowling  " 
in  a  canoe  with  a  companion.  At  the  first  discharge  of 
his  piece  a  number  of  Pequots  rose  from  ambush,  killed 
his  companion,  and  seized  him  for  torture.  He  was  tied 
to  a  stake  and  flayed,  hot  embers  were  thrust  into  his  flesh, 
and  his  fingers  and  toes  were  cut  off.  He  died  after  sev- 
eral hours  of  suffering,  but  not  a  groan  escaped  him :  for 
this  good  courage  the  Indians  admired  him  as  a  "  stout 
man."  Three  men  coming  down  the  River  in  a  shallop 
were  beset  by  several  Indians  in  canoes.  They  fought 
bravely,  but  one  was  killed,  the  others  were  taken.  Each 
of  the  prisoners  was  cut  in  twain  from  the  legs  to  the  head. 


96  Connecticut  River 

and  the  mutilated  bodies  hung  by  the  neck  upon  trees  by 
the  riverside,  "  that  as  the  English  passed  by  they  might 
see  those  miserable  objects  "  of  the  Indians'  vengeance. 

By  the  spring  of  1637  the  situation  was  at  its  gravest. 
The  settlers,  feeble  in  numbers,  could  "'  neither  hunt,  fish, 
nor  cultivate  the  fields,  nor  travel  at  home  or  abroad,  but 
at  the  price  of  their  lives.  They  vrere  obliged  to  keep  a 
constant  watch  by  night  and  by  day ;  to  go  armed  to  their 
daily  labors  and  to  the  public  worship."  There  were  grave 
fears  that  the  Pequots  would  succeed  in  uniting  the  Indians 
generally  against  them.  Even  the  Pequots'  persistent 
foe,  the  Narragansetts,  were  now  disposed  to  make  a  truce, 
impressed  by  the  argument  that  if  the  Pequots  were  de- 
stroyed their  own  ruin  would  surely  follow.  Only  through 
the  courageous  intercession  of  Roger  Williams  were  they 
dissuaded,  and  brought  instead  to  make  treaty  with  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay.  The  Pequots'  plan  of  campaign  was  not 
open  warfare.  It  was  to  lie  in  ambush  and  shoot  the  Eng- 
lish as  they  went  about  their  ordinary  business ;  to  burn 
their  houses,  destroy  their  crops,  kill  tbeir  cattle  and  other 
live  stock ;  to  harass  and  terrorize  them.  Thus  the  Indian 
warriors  believed  the  whites  would  be  forced  quickly  to 
leave  the  country,  while  they  themselves  would  not  be  ex- 
posed to  great  hazard. 

In  February  the  General  Court  at  Hartford  had  sent  a 
letter  to  the  Bay  Colony  representing  the  dire  results  of 
Endicott's  expedition,  and  urging  a  more  effective  prosecu- 
tion of  their  Pequot  war.  The  same  month  Major  John 
Mason  was  sent  down  to  Saybrook  from  Hartford  with 
twenty  men  to  reinforce  the  fort,  and  to  keep  the  enemy  at 
a  greater  distance.  In  April  following  Massachusetts  dis- 
patched Captain  Underbill  to  Saybrook  with  twenty 
"  lusty  men  well  armed  "  from  Boston.     The  latter  were 


The  Pequot  ^\^ars  97 

sent  at  the  charge  of  the  "  Lords  and  Gentlemen."  They 
were  "  lent "  for  service,  not  alone  to  protect  the  place  from 
the  Indians,  but  also  from  the  Dutch,  who  "  by  their  speeches 
and  supplies  out  of  Holland  "  had  aroused  a  suspicion  that 
they  had  "some  designs  upon  it."  With  Underhill's  arri- 
val Mason  returned  with  his  men  to  Hartford,  where  matters 
had  reached  a  crisis  through  an  attack  upon  Wethersfield 
of  a  most  threatening  nature. 

This  assault  was  made  by  a  band  of  a  hundred  Pequots 
and  Wethersfield  Indians  combined.  They  had  one  morn- 
ing suddenly  risen  from  an  ambuscade  on  the  fringe  of  the 
settlement,  and  set  upon  a  number  of  settlers  going  to 
their  work  in  a  neighboring  field.  Nine  of  the  English 
were  killed  and  two  maidens  were  taken  captive.  The 
victors  were  espied  from  Saybrook  Fort  coming  down  the 
River  in  three  canoes  with  fragments  of  English  clothes 
fluttering  from  tall  sticks,  like  sails.  Concluding  from 
their  appearance  that  they  were  on  some  evil  course.  Lion 
Gardiner  overhauled  them  with  a  shot  from  the  fort's 
"  great  gun."  The  ball  "  beat  off  the  beak  head"  of  one 
of  the  canoes,  which  happened  to  be  that  in  which  were 
the  captive  maids.  None,  however,  was  hurt ;  and  before 
another  shot  could  be  fired  the  Indians  had  drawn  the 
canoes  over  a  narrow  beach,  and  got  away. 

Immediately  upon  this  event  the  General  Court  was  con- 
vened at  Hartford,  —  that  first  General  Court  to  which  the 
towns  sent  committees  or  delegates,  —  to  deliberate  on  the 
perilous  condition  of  affairs  and  to  take  action  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  colony.  It  was  fully  recognized  that  the 
Pequots  were  "  a  great  people,  being  strongly  fortified, 
cruel,  warlike,  munitioned,  &c."  and  the  colonists  only  "  a 
handful  in  comparison."  But  the  havoc  already  committed 
by  them,  their  killing  of  nearly  thirty  of  the  English,  their 


98  Connecticut  River 

persistent  attempts  to  unite  all  the  tribes  for  the  extirpa- 
tion of  the  English,  their  constant  pursuit  in  "  malicious 
courses,"  their  "great  pride  and  insolency," — these  acts 
and  threats  necessitated  the  giving  of  some  "  capital  blow" 
to  so  relentless  an  enemy  if  the  colonists  were  to  survive. 
Accordingly  offensive  measures  were  solemnly  declared  in 
formal  vote.     Thus  began  the  real  Pequot  War. 

An  "  army  "  was  formed  of  ninety  men  drawn  from  the 
three  meagre  settlements  of  Hartford,  Windsor,  and 
Wethersfield ;  small  as  it  was,  the  levy  took  from  one- 
third  to  one-half  of  all  the  able-bodied  men  in  the  planta- 
tions. Seventy  Indians,  mostly  from  the  Mohegans,  under 
the  sachem  Uncas,  were  joined  to  this  force.  Major  John 
Mason  was  made  the  chief  commander.  Mason  was  one 
of  the  great  captains  of  New  England,  bred  to  arms  in  the 
Dutch  Netherlands  under  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax.  He  had 
come  out  with  the  Dorchester  company,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  planters  of  Windsor.  He  became  to  the  Connecticut 
Colony  what  Myles  Standish  was  to  the  Pilgrims  of  Ply- 
mouth. He  was  "  tall  and  portly,  but  nevertheless  full  of 
martial  bravery  and  vigor."  So  Thomas  Prince  portrayed 
him.     He  was  the  man  for  the  hour,  as  events  proved. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1637,  these  motley  troops  em- 
barked at  Hartford.  With  them  went  Samuel  Stone,  the 
Hartford  "  teacher,"  as  chaplain.  Thomas  Hooker  gave 
them  Godspeed  in  a  speech  on  their  going  aboard.  The 
savages,  he  said, "  should  be  bread  for  them."  The  "  fleet " 
comprised  "  one  pink,  one  pinnace,  and  one  shallop,"  — 
the  shallop  being  impressed  for  the  service  from  P3rnchon 
of  Springfield.  They  fell  down  the  River,  destined  first 
for  Saybrook  Fort. 

The  passage  was  slow  and  halting  from  contrary  winds 


^ 


o 


o 


The  Pequot  Wars  99 

and  low  water.  After  several  delays  from  running  aground 
the  Indian  contingent  became  impatient,  and  asked  to  be 
set  ashore  that  they  might  make  their  way  afoot,  promis- 
ing to  rejoin  the  company  at  the  fort.  Their  request  was 
granted,  but  with  some  misgivings,  for  their  loyalty  was 
not  assured.  When  nearing  the  fort  the  fleet  came  upon 
Captain  Underbill,  who  had  rowed  out  to  meet  them.  At 
the  moment  the  chaplain  was  "  at  prayer  in  the  midst  of 
the  soldiers,"  the  hearts  of  all  being  ''perplexed,"  fearing 
treacher}^  in  their  Indian  allies.  Underbill  silently  brought 
his  boat  alongside  and  awaited  the  close  of  the  unwonted 
scene  on  the  still  River.  Then  he  cheered  all  mightily 
with  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  allies  and  of  a  great  ex- 
ploit by  them  as  a  pledge  of  their  fidelity.  He  told  how 
upon  reaching  the  fort  they  were  for  instantly  falling  out 
in  search  of  Pequots  lurking  in  the  neighborhood ;  how  it 
being  "  the  Lord's  day  "  they  were  held  back  till  the  next 
morning;  how  they  then  sallied  forth,  and  presently  re- 
turned triumphantly  bringing  in  five  gory  Pequot  heads 
and  one  wretched  prisoner  who  had  been  a  spy  on  the  gar- 
rison for  Sassacus.  Lion  Gardiner  in  his  later  "  History  " 
gives  a  different  version  of  this  affair.  According  to  his 
story,  the  Indians  were  sent  on  the  adventure  by  himself 
to  test  their  loyalty.  A  band  of  Pequots  had  passed  near 
the  fort  in  a  canoe  the  night  before,  and  Uncas  was  told 
that  if  he  would  send  twenty  of  his  men  after  them  and 
"  fetch  them  dead  or  alive  "  he  could  remain  with  Mason's 
company ;  "  else  not."  However,  be  the  details  as  they 
may,  the  performance  was  accepted  by  all  the  English  as  a 
"  special  providence,"  and  brought  them  much  relief. 

A  gruesome  sequel  to  this  affair  was  the  disposition  of 
the  prisoner-spy.  Uncas  and  his  men  insisted  upon  exe- 
cuting him  according  to  the  manners  of  their  ancestors. 


100  Connecticut  River 

The  English,  in  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were,  did 
not  judge  it  prudent  to  interpose.  Kindling  a  large  fire, 
the  Indians  violently  tore  him  limb  from  limb.  Then 
cutting  his  flesh  in  pieces  they  handed  it  from  one  to 
another  and  devoured  it,  singing  and  dancing  the  while 
round  the  fire.  The  bones  and  parts  that  were  not  con- 
sumed in  this  dreadful  repast  were  "  committed  to  the 
flames  and  burnt  to  ashes." 

Mason's  "army"  was  detained  at  Saybrook  Fort,  wind- 
bound,  for  three  or  four  days.  The  time  was  occupied  by 
the  officers,  —  Underbill  and  Gardiner  and  the  others,  — 
in  discussing  a  plan  of  campaign.  Gardiner  marvelled,  as 
he  had  "wondered"  when  the  Bay  men  came  upon  their 
venture,  that  so  hazardous  a  design  should  be  attempted 
with  such  an  inadequate  force.  Underbill  acquiesced  in 
his  views.  Both  declared  that  they  would  not  join  in  the 
expedition  unless  they  "that  were  bred  soldiers"  from 
"  their  youth  up  "  could  see  some  likelihood  of  doing  better 
than  the  Bay  men  had  done.  At  length  it  was  arranged 
that  twenty  of  Mason's  force  should  be  sent  back  to  Hart- 
ford to  guard  the  River  settlements,  and  that  their  places 
should  be  taken  by  Underbill's  "  lusty  men." 

Next  the  manner  of  attack  was  warmly  debated,  and 
in  this  Mason  proved  the  better  strategist  of  the  group. 
He  was  for  a  land  attack  in  the  rear  by  way  of  the  Narra- 
gansett  country.  It  was  known  that  the  Pequots  kept  a 
constant  guard  upon  the  Pequot  River,  hard  by  their  strong- 
hold, expecting  attack  at  that  point ;  that  their  numbers 
were  great,  and  that  they  were  well  supplied  with  guns ; 
and  he  reasoned  that  being  on  land  and  swift  of  foot  they 
might  impede  a  landing  there,  while  if  approached  and 
attacked  from  the  rear  they  might  be  surprised  in  their 
manoeuvers ;  and  at  worst  the  English  would  be  on  firm 


The  Pequot  Wars  101 

land  as  well  as  they.  The  particulars  of  the  Pequots' 
strength  and  preparedness  had  been  learned  from  the  two 
Wethersfield  girls,  who  fortunately  were  now  at  Saybrook 
Fort,  restored  by  the  Dutch,  who  had  retaken  them  from 
their  captors,  "  a  very  friendly  office  and  not  to  be  for- 
gotten," as  Mason  generously  recorded,  regardless  of  the 
strained  relations  between  the  Dutchmen  and  the  English, 
The  other  captains  and  Mason's  principal  men  long 
stood  out  stoutly  against  his  plan  as  involving  too  great 
dangers  in  an  extended  march  through  a  hostile  wilderness, 
a.nd  too  long  a  campaign.  A  more  speedy  despatch  of 
their  business  was  deemed  necessary  that  the  yeomen  might 
get  back  to  their  farms.  Withal  it  was  contrary  to  the 
terms  of  their  commission,  which  expressly  enjoined  the 
landing  of  Mason's  forces  at  Pequot  (New  London)  harbor. 
And  moreover  this  order  was  backed  by  a  supplementary 
letter  of  instructions  from  the  magistrates.  At  length, 
neither  side  yielding.  Mason  proposed  that  the  question 
should  be  left  to  the  prayers  of  the  chaplain  for  decision. 
It  was  a  master-stroke,  for  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that 
he  knew  his  chaplain.  The  proposition  meeting  the  ap- 
proval of  all,  Mr.  Stone  was  sought  aboard  the  pink,  and 
importuned  to  "  commend  "  their  business  "  to  the  Lord 
that  night."  Mr.  Stone  promised  his  prayers,  and  all  re- 
tired to  await  the  result.  Bright  and  early  the  next  morn- 
ing the  chaplain  came  ashore  to  the  major's  chamber,  and 
informed  him  that  the  night  of  prayer  had  "fully  satisfied" 
him  that  they  should  sail  for  Narragansett.  Thereupon 
the  council  was  reconvened,  and  the  astute  major's  plan 
was  adopted  without  further  ado.  All,  seemingly,  were 
assured  in  their  Puritan  minds,  unvexed  by  theological 
doubts,  that  it  had  divine  indorsement  in  direct  response 
to  their  chaplain's  petition. 


102  Connecticut  River 

Mason,  disciplined  soldier  that  he  was,  frankly  pointed 
out,  in  his  Narrative  of  after  years,  the  hazard  of  such  de- 
parture as  his  from  the  definite  instructions  of  official  su- 
periors, and  justified  it  only  on  the  ground  of  necessity. 
"  I  declare  not  this,"  he  wrote  in  his  quaint  way,  "  to  en- 
courage any  soldier  to  act  beyond  their  commission,  or  con- 
trary to  it :  for  in  so  doing  they  run  a  double  hazard. 
There  was  a  great  commander  in  Belgia  who  did  the 
States  great  service  in  taking  a  city ;  but  by  going  beyond 
his  commission  lost  his  life.  His  name  was  Grubben- 
dunk."  If,  however,  a  war  is  to  be  managed  by  judgment 
and  discretion,  "the  Shews  are  many  times  contrary  to 
what  they  seem  to  pursue :  whereof  the  more  an  Enter- 
prise is  dissembled  and  kept  secret,  the  more  facile  to  put 
in  Execution :  as  the  Proverb,  the  farthest  way  about  is 
sometimes  the  nearest  way  home."  So,  —  and  here  he 
struck  a  note  which  has  been  echoed  by  many  a  trained 
captain  since  his  day,  —  "in  Matters  of  War  those  who 
are  both  able  and  faithful  should  be  improved,  and  then 
bind  them  not  up  into  too  narrow  a  Compass.  For  it  is 
not  possible  for  the  ablest  Senator  to  forsee  all  Accidents 
and  Occurrents  that  fall  out  in  the  Management  and  Pur- 
suit of  a  War.  Nay,  although  possibly  he  might  be  trained 
up  in  Military  Affairs ;  and  truly  much  less  can  he  have 
any  great  Knowledge  who  hath  had  but  little  experience 
therein." 

Mason's  campaign,  under  all  the  circumstances,  was  the 
most  remarkable  of  colonial  wars.  The  expedition  set  sail 
on  a  Friday  for  Narragansett  Bay  and  arrived  at  their  port 
toward  evening  of  Saturday.  There  they  kept  Sunday 
aboard  their  boats.  High  winds  obliged  them  to  remain 
off  shore  for  two  days  longer.     After  sunset  of  Tuesday  a 


The  Pequot  Wars  103 

landing  was  effected,  and  Mason  with  a  guard  marched 
up  to  the  chief  sachem's  wigwam,  where  the  chief  was 
met.  With  the  formality  dear  to  the  Indian  heart  the 
captain  explained  their  appearance  in  arms  in  the  sachem's 
country  and  stated  their  desire  only  to  pass  through  it  to 
the  Pequot  land.  The  English  doubted  not  his  acceptance 
of  their  coming,  "  there  being  love  betwixt  himself  "  and 
them,  since  their  object  was  to  avenge  themselves,  "  God 
assisting,"  upon  his  own  enemies,  as  well  as  theirs,  for  the 
"  intolerable  wrongs  and  injuries "  that  had  been  done. 
The  chief  approved  their  design,  but  "spake  slightingly" 
of  them  in  saying  that  he  thought  their  numbers  too  weak 
to  deal  with  this  enemy,  who  were  "  very  great  captains, 
and  men  skilful  in  war."  Mason,  however,  let  the  slight 
pass,  for  the  free  thoroughfare  desired  was  attained. 

Early  the  next  morning,  leaving  their  vessels  under  pro- 
tection, the  overland  march  was  begun,  along  Indian  trails. 
That  day  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  were  made,  and  "  Nay- 
anticke  "  (Niantic)  was  reached,  where  was  a  fort  of  another 
Narragansett  sachem,  Miantonomo,  on  the  Pequot  frontier. 
The  Indians  here  appeared  haughty  and  carried  themselves 
"very  proudly."  They  would  not  permit  Mason's  men  to 
enter  their  fort.  This  lofty  attitude  was  met  with  prompt 
and  effective  action.  A  guard  was  posted  about  the  fort 
and  all  were  imprisoned  within  their  own  stronghold, 
warned  that  none  should  stir  out  under  peril  of  his  life. 
And  none  did.  Thus,  also,  they  were  prevented  from  dis- 
covering the  little  army  to  the  foe.  That  night  the  Eng- 
lish quartered  serenely  near  the  fort,  no  "  hostile  "  ventur- 
ing to  disturb  them.  The  following  morning  several  of 
Miantonomo' s  men  came  forward  to  enlist  in  the  expedi- 
tion, and  soon  others  were  encouraged  to  join.  Gathering 
into  a  ring,  one  after  another  made  "  solemn  protestations 


104  Connecticut  River 

how  gallantly  they  would  demean  themselves,  and  how 
many  "  of  the  enemy  "  they  would  kill."  At  eight  o'clock 
the  march  was  resumed  with  some  five  hundred  of  these 
Indians  added  to  the  line.  A  toilsome  tramp  of  about 
twelve  miles  brought  the  invaders  to  the  Pococatuck  River, 
between  the  present  Westerly  and  Stonington,  at  a  ford 
where  they  were  told  the  Pequots  usually  fished.  Now 
the  Narragansetts  who  had  so  boasted  of  their  prowess 
began  to  show  fear,  and  many  turned  back  homeward. 

Three  miles  farther  on  the  army  came  upon  a  field 
newly  planted  with  Indian  corn.  At  this  evidence  that 
the  enemy  was  nigh,  a  council  of  war  was  held.  The 
Narragansetts  still  remaining  informed  them  of  two  Pe- 
quot  forts,  both  almost  impregnable.  It  was  resolved  to 
assault  both  at  once.  But  learning  that  they  were  a  long 
march  apart,  the  English  were  constrained  to  accept  the 
nearest ;  "  much  grieved  "  thereat,  because  the  farther  one 
was  the  stronghold  of  Sassacus,  whom  they  were  impatient 
to  fight.  Moving  now  "  in  a  silent  manner,"  the  march 
was  continued  for  about  an  hour  into  the  moonlit  night. 
Then  coming  upon  a  swamp  between  two  hills,  in  the 
present  town  of  Groton,  they  pitched  their  little  camp, 
much  wearied  with  hard  travel.  "  The  rocks  were  their 
pillows,"  yet  "-'rest  was  pleasant."  Their  sentries,  posted  at 
some  distance  forward,  "  heard  the  enemy  singing  at  the 
fort,  who  continued  that  strain  till  midnight  with  great  in- 
sulting and  rejoicing,"  for,  having  seen  the  pinnaces  sail 
by  them  some  days  before,  they  believed  that  the  English 
were  "afraid  and  durst  not  come  near  them." 

Soon  after  daylight  the  men  were  roused.  "  Briefly 
commending  themselves  and  their  design  to  God,"  they 
were  prepared  immediately  for  the  assault.  Only  two 
miles  more  were  to  be  covered  before  the  enemy  were  met. 


The  Pequot  Wars  105 

Reaching  the  foot  of  a  hill,  Mason  was  told  that  the 
fort  was  on  its  top.  Now  the  remnant  of  the  Narragan- 
sett  allies  had  faded  from  sight. 

The  fort  consisted  of  a  long  palisade  strengthened  with 
trees  and  brushwood,  elevated  above  the  Mystic  River,  near 
its  head.  There  were  two  entrances.  Within  were  clus- 
ters of  wigwams  occupied  by  the  families  of  the  braves 
and  containing  their  stores.  It  was  decided  to  force 
both  entrances  at  the  same  time.  Accordingly  the  army 
was  divided,  Mason  leading  one  division.  Underbill  the 
other.  Again ''  commending  themselves  to  God,"  the  ad- 
vance was  silently  begun.  When  Mason's  band  had  ap- 
proached within  a  rod  of  the  entrance  chosen  for  their 
attack,  a  dog  was  heard  to  bark  inside  the  fort.  Then 
a  startled  Indian  cry  rang  out,  —  " '  Owanux  !  Owanux  ! ' 
which  is,  '  English !  English.'  "  Rushing  up,  the  force 
opened  fire  through  the  palisade ;  then,  wheeling,  fell 
upon  the  entrance,  the  bulky  Mason  at  the  head  clambering 
over  brush  breast-high  which  blocked  it.  The  surprise 
was  complete.  The  fighting  men  were  in  heavy  sleep  pro- 
longed by  their  night's  feasting  and  dancing  when  the  Eng- 
lish were  upon  them.  Dazed  by  the  suddeness  of  the  on- 
slaught, they  caught  up  their  weapons  for  defence,  but  too 
late.  Encountering  no  Indian  at  the  entrance,  Mason 
strode  forward  to  the  first  wigwam.  Entering,  he  was  be- 
set by  a  number  who  had  been  here  concealed  watching 
his  movements  and  ready  "  to  lay  hands  on  him."  A  hot 
fight  ended  in  their  vanquishment ;  one  Indian  was 
killed,  the  others  fled.  The  captain  then  passed  beyond 
into  the  lane  or  street,  and  followed  it  toward  the  end 
where  Underbill's  division  had  entered,  the  Indians  be- 
tween them  scattering  and  shooting  their  arrows  as  they 
ran.     Then  "■  facing  about,"  he  marched  "  a  slow  pace  " 


106  Connecticut  River 

back  along  the  lane,  much  blown  by  his  exertions.  Near 
the  entrance  he  observed  "  two  soldiers  standing  close  to 
the  palisade  with  their  swords  pointed  to  the  ground." 
Joining  them  he  declared  that  the  enemy  could  never  be 
killed  off  in  that  way ;  "  we  must  burn  them  !  "  And  rush- 
ing back  to  the  wigwam  that  he  had  first  entered,  he 
seized  a  firebrand  and  applied  it  to  the  dry  mats  which 
served  as  covering.  Instantly  the  tent  was  ablaze,  and 
the  flames  ran  fiercely  through  the  enclosure. 

"  When  [the  fire]  was  thoroughly  kindled  the  Indians  ran  as  men 
dreadfully  amazed.  And  indeed  such  a  dreadful  Terror  did  the  Al- 
mighty let  fall  upon  their  Spirits  that  they  would  fly  from  us  and 
run  into  the  very  flames,  where  many  of  them  perished.  And  when 
the  Fort  was  thoroughly  fired,  command  was  given  that  all  should 
fall  off  and  surround  the  Fort  which  was  readily  attended  by  all. 
....  The  fire  was  kindled  on  the  northeast  side  to  windward ; 
which  did  swiftly  overrun  the  Fort  to  the  extreme  amazement  of 
the  enemy,  and  great  rejoicing  of  ourselves.  Some  of  them  climb- 
ing to  the  top  of  the  Palisado,  others  of  them  running  into  the  very 
flames ;  many  of  them  gathering  to  windward  lay  pelting  at  us  with 
their  arrows,  and  we  repayed  them  with  our  small  shot.  Others  of 
the  stoutest  issued  forth,  as  we  did  guess  to  the  number  of  40,  who 
perished  by  the  sword  .... 

"  Thus  were  they  now  at  their  wits  end,  who  not  many  hours  be- 
fore exalted  themselves  in  their  great  pride,  threatening  and  resolv- 
ing the  utter  ruin  and  destruction  of  all  the  English,  exulting  and 
rejoicing  with  songs  and  dances.  But  God  was  above  them,  who 
laughed  his  enemies  and  the  enemies  of  His  People  to  scorn,  mak- 
ing them  as  a  fiery  oven  :  Thus  were  the  Stout  Hearted  spoiled, 
having  slept  their  last  sleep  and  none  of  their  Men  could  find  their 
Hands :  Thus  did  the  Lord  judge  among  the  Heathen,  filling  the 
Place  with  dead  Bodies ! 

"And  here  we  may  see  the  first  judgment  of  God  in  sending 
even  the  very  night  before  this  Assault  150  men  from  their  other 
Fort  to  join  with  them  of  this  place,  who  were  designed,  as  some  of 
themselves  reported,  to  go  forth  against  the  English  at  that  very  in- 


The  Pequot  Wars  107 

stant  when  this  heavy  stroke  came  upon  them,  where  they  perished 
with  their  fellows.  And  thus  in  little  more  than  one  hour's  space 
was  their  impregnable  Fort  with  themselves  utterly  destroyed  to  the 
number  of  600  or  700,  as  some  of  themselves  confessed.  There  were 
only  7  taken  captive,  and  about  7  escaped.  Of  the  English  there 
were  2  slain  outright,  and  about  20  wounded." 

Such  is  the  pious  report  of  the  valiant  captain.  Women 
and  children  perished  in  the  flames,  or  in  the  slaughter. 
No  quarter  was  given.  "  Bereaved  of  pity  and  without  com- 
passion," the  English  struck  the  frenzied  creatures  down  as 
they  attempted  to  escape  the  awful  fire.  "  Great  and  dole- 
ful," said  Underhill  in  his  narrative,  "  was  the  bloody  sight 
to  the  view  of  young  soldiers,  to  see  so  many  souls  lie 
gasping  on  the  ground,  so  thick  you  could  hardly  pass 
along."  It  was  a  cruel  and  barbarous  thing.  But  no 
more  cruel  and  barbarous  was  it  than  the  warfare  that 
"  Christian  "  peoples  of  our  own  "  enlightened  "  times  have 
waged  upon  foes  we  term  savages,  and  probably  not  so 
fiendish,  in  the  execution,  as  the  fate  which  awaited  the 
white  men  had  the  Pequots  been  successful  in  their  own 
stratagems. 

With  the  destruction  of  the  fort  the  fighting  was  not 
ended.  The  army,  again  on  the  move,  headed  in  the  direction 
of  Pequot  harbor,  where  their  vessels  left  at  Narragansett 
Bay  were  to  meet  them.  But  there  was  no  certainty  that  the 
boats  would  be  there.  As  they  marched  their  way  was  beset 
by  perils.  Somewhere,  perhaps  in  their  path,  was  the  other 
fort  whose  warriors  might  at  any  moment  be  upon  them. 
Several  members  of  the  little  force  were  detailed  to  carrj-  the 
wounded,  and  others  their  heavy  arms,  so  that  only  about 
forty  were  available  for  action.  Their  ammunition  was 
running  short.  All  were  weary  from  the  recent  conflict. 
The  remaining  Indian  contingent,  save  Uncas  and  his  men, 


108  Connecticut  River 

were  of  little  service  to  them,  but  rather  a  hindrance. 
They  had  proceeded  only  a  short  distance  when  the  officers 
held  a  consultation  as  to  what  course  to  pursue.  At  this 
moment,  from  the  high  land  overlooking  the  water,  their 
vessels  were  espied  sailing  "  before  a  fine  gale  of  wind  " 
into  Pequot  harbor.  As  they  were  rejoicing  at  the  sight 
they  saw  the  enemy  from  the  other  fort  coming  up  the 
hill  slope,  three  hundred  or  more  strong.  Immediately 
Mason  led  out  a  file  or  two  and  advanced  upon  them, 
'^  chiefly  to  try  what  temper  they  were  in."  They  were 
soon  scattered.  Much  elated,  the  army  marched  on,  some 
of  the  allies  now  taking  the  biu-den  of  the  wounded  in 
place  of  their  comrades,  thus  leaving  the  latter  free  for 
action.  Shortly  the  routed  Indians  were  again  encoun- 
tered. They  had  come  upon  the  ruined  fort  and  the  ashes 
of  its  inmates  and  had  been  thrown  into  great  rage  by  the 
sight.  Then  they  had  turned  about  and  started  back  for 
the  English,  leaping  down  the  hill  like  a  whirlwind  upon 
them.  Underbill  held  the  rear  of  the  marching  army. 
When  they  had  come  within  musket  range  his  men  faced 
about  and  poured  a  volley  into  the  shouting  horde  Some 
were  killed ;  the  rest  were  made  ''  more  wary."  There- 
after they  hovered  around  the  column,  darting  in  and  out 
of  cover,  from  behind  trees  and  rocks,  firing  their  arrows 
much  at  random.  So  a  running  fight  was  kept  up  to 
within  two  miles  of  the  harbor,  with  but  slight  hurt  to  the 
armored  English.  Here  the  enemy  "  gathered  together  "  and 
left  them ;  while  with  their  colors  flying  the  victors  marched 
to  the  hill-top  adjoining  the  harbor.  Seeing  their  vessels 
riding  at  anchor  below,  "  to  their  great  rejoicing,"  they 
hastened  to  the  water-side  and  "  there  sat  down  in  quiet." 
The  homeward  journey  was  made  overland,  the 
wounded  being  conveyed  by  water.     With  the  fleet  met  in 


The  Pequot  Wars  109 

Pequot  harbor  was  Captain  Patrick  of  the  Bay  Colony,  who 
had  come  out  in  a  bark  from  Boston  with  forty  men. 
Some  altercation  took  place  between  him  and  Captain  Un- 
derbill ;  and  Captain  Mason  was  nettled  at  Patrick's  inti- 
mation that  he  had  come  to  their  relief,  thinking  they  were 
being  pursued  by  the  enemy.  Matters,  however,  were 
amicably  arranged ;  and  the  return  to  Saybrook  Fort  was 
made  without  further  incident,  Patrick  accompanying  Mason 
on  the  march  through  the  woods.  Reaching  the  east  side 
of  the  River,  the  army  were  "  nobly  entertained"  by  Cap- 
tain Gardiner  with  a  salvo  of  "  great  guns."  The  next 
morning  they  were  transported  across  to  the  fort,  where 
the  gallant  Gardiner  extended  further  com^esies  to  them. 
Then  they  sailed  back  to  their  up-River  homes,  and 
there  were  received  "  with  great  triumph  and  rejoicing,  and 
praising  God  for  his  goodness  "  in  crowning  them  with 
success  and  restoring  them  with  so  little  loss. 

Note  was  made  of  various  "  special  providences  "  in  es- 
capes from  death  by  the  Indians'  arrows.  A  unique  case 
was  that  of  Lieutenant  Bull,  who  "  had  an  arrow  shot  into  a 
hard  piece  of  cheese,  having  no  other  armoiu: "  :  upon  which 
Captain  Mason  shrewdly  remarked  that  it  might "  verify  the 
old  saying,  '  A  little  armour  would  serve  if  a  man  knew 
where  to  place  it.'  " 

But  the  war  was  not  yet  over.  The  crippled  Pe- 
quots  were  now  to  be  destroyed  as  a  tribe.  Soon  after 
Mason's  army  had  departed  from  their  country  they  aban- 
doned their  remaining  fort  and  their  lands,  scattering  in 
bands.  A  few  sought  refuge  with  depending  tribes.  The 
great  body  turned  toward  Manhattan.  Sassacus  and  sev- 
enty or  eighty  of  his  best  warriors  took  the  route  to  the 
Hudson.     The  flight  had  scarcely  begun  when  the  English 


110  Connecticut  River 

were  hunting  them  down.  News  of  the  exploit  of  the 
Connecticut  force,  carried  to  Massachusetts  Bay  by  an  In- 
dian runner  sent  out  by  Roger  Williams  at  Providence,  had 
roused  the  Eastern  colonies.  At  once  the  Bay  men  des- 
patched their  main  army,  recruited  for  this  war,  to  the 
scene  of  action.  The  Plymouth  Colony  also  engaged  to 
send  an  expedition,  with  Lieutenant  Holmes  as  leader. 
Meanwhile  the  River  government  had  promptly  taken 
steps  to  occupy  the  Pequot  country.  On  the  23d  of  June 
the  court  at  Hartford  ordered  that  thirty  men,  "  out  of  the 
three  River  plantations,"  be  sent  to  "  sett  down  "  therein, 
to  "  maintain  our  right  that  God  by  conquest  hath  given 
us."  A  fortnight  or  three  weeks  later  the  Bay  force  ap- 
peared in  Pequot  harbor  in  a  little  fleet.  It  consisted  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  under  Captain  Israel  Stough- 
ton,  with  John  Wilson,  first  minister  of  Boston,  as  chap- 
lain. Almost  simultaneously  the  Hartford  Court  ordered 
forward  a  new  company  of  forty  men,  under  Captain 
Mason,  for  "  fiu*ther  prosecution  of  the  war."  This  force 
immediately  made  a  junction  with  Stoughton  at  Pequot 
harbor.  Along  with  Mason  went  Ludlow,  Haynes,  and 
other  principal  men  of  the  River  towns  for  counsel. 
Miantonomo,  the  Narragansetts'  sachem,  and  two  hundred 
of  his  warriors,  also  came  to  the  encampment.  Uncas  and 
his  men,  too,  were  on  hand. 

Then  pm-suit  of  the  wretched  fugitives  began.  En- 
cumbered by  their  women  and  children,  and  scantily  pro- 
visioned, their  flight  was  slow.  One  band,  half-famished 
and  miserable,  were  come  upon  by  the  Bay  men  in  a  se- 
cluded swamp  in  Groton.  Of  a  hundred  taken,  the  women 
and  children,  eighty  of  them,  were  reserved  for  bondage ; 
while  the  men  (except  two  sachems  saved  for  a  while  be- 
cause they  promised  to  track  Sassacus)  were  "  turned  into 


o 
o 

•Si 


o 
o 

h-1 


< 


The  Pequot  Wars  111 

Charon's  ferry  boat  under  the  command  of  Skipper  Gallop," 
and  "  despatched  "  in  the  sea.  The  pursuit  was  followed 
westerly  through  the  shore  woods,  the  vessels  sailing  along 
the  Sound  as  the  troops  marched.  Our  River  was  crossed 
to  Saybrook  Fort.  A  few  miles  beyond,  at  Menunketuck, 
now  Guilford,  the  captured  sachems  were  beheaded.  The 
name,  "  Sachem's  Head,"  still  borne  by  the  Point  which 
here  reaches  into  the  Soimd,  denotes  the  place  of  their  exe- 
cution. At  Unquowa,  now  Fairfield,  beyond  the  Housa- 
tonic's  mouth,  the  final  battle  took  place,  the  fiercest  of 
all.  This  was  the  "  Great  Swamp  Fight "  in  which  Sassa- 
cus  and  his  braves  were  encountered,  with  two  hundred 
Indians  of  the  neighborhood.  The  English  won,  but  Sassa- 
cus  with  many  of  his  warriors  escaped,  and  fled  to  the  Mo- 
hawks. After  this  fight  the  troops  returned,  while  the 
Mohegans  and  Narragansetts  kept  up  the  chase  of  scattered 
bands,  repeatedly  bringing  in  to  Hartford  and  Windsor  in 
triumph  gory  heads  of  the  slain.  Sassacus  met  his  fate  at 
the  hands  of  the  Mohawks  soon  after  joining  them,  and  his 
scalp  was  sent  to  Hartford.  In  September,  Ludlow,  Pyn- 
chon,  and  several  others  journeyed  overland  to  Boston, 
carrying  a  piece  of  the  dead  sachem's  skin  and  a  lock  of 
his  hair ;  and  these  they  displayed  before  the  Bay  leaders 
as  "  a  rare  sight  and  a  sure  demonstration  of  the  death  of 
their  mortal  enemy."  Then  a  great  day  of  thanksgiving 
and  prayer  was  held  in  the  three  colonies. 

The  captured  Pequot  women  and  children  were  distrib- 
uted among  the  troops.  Of  those  taken  to  Massachusetts 
some  were  sent  to  the  West  Indies  and  sold  as  slaves.  The 
remnant  of  the  tribe  at  length  surrendered,  and  were 
amalgamated  with  the  Mohegans  and  the  Narragansetts. 
Their  surviving  chief  men,  through  whom  the  surrender 


112  Connecticut  River 

was  made,  came  to  Hartford  and  humbly  offered  to  be  ser- 
vants to  the  English.  Only  about  two  hundred  adult  males 
are  said  to  have  been  left  after  eight  hundred  or  more  had 
been  killed  or  taken.  Their  tribal  name  was  blotted  out. 
They  were  never  more  to  inhabit  their  country.  They  were 
to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  the  Connecticut  Colony, 
their  lands  were  divided  between  Connecticut  and  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Pequot  River  subsequently  became  the 
Thames.  Captain  Mason  was  made  "  public  miltary  offi- 
cer" of  the  plantations,  and  the  train  band  was  instituted. 
This  complete  crushing  of  a  great  and  domineering 
tribe  by  a  handful  of  Englishmen  had  a  salutary  effect  on 
all  the  other  New  England  Indians,  and  while  troubles 
with  them  were  not  wholly  banished  from  the  River  towns, 
no  open  war  was  again  had  for  nearly  forty  years.  It 
cleared  the  country  along  Long  Island  Sound  for  settle- 
ment, and  colonization  at  points  above  and  below  the 
River's  mouth  almost  immediately  followed. 


o 
o 

OS 
CO 


(U 


IX 

Philip's  War  in  the  Valley 

The  Direful  Conflict  of  1675-1676  Centering  in  the  Massachusetts  Reach  — 
Philip  of  the  Wampanoags  —  The  frontier  River  Towns  —  Hadley  the  Mili- 
tary Headquarters —  Gathering  of  the  Colonial  forces  —  The  "Regicide" 
Goffe  perhaps  a  Secret  Observer  of  the  Spectacle  —  The  apocryphal  Tale 
of  the  "  Angel  of  Deliverance  "  —  First  Assault  upon  Deerfleld  —  Northfield 
Destroyed  —  Fatal  March  of  Captain  Beers  toward  Northfield  —  The  Am- 
buscade on  "  Beers's  Plain  "  —  Ghastly  Sight  meeting  the  Gaze  of  a  Relief 
Force  —  A  Sunday  Attack  upon  Deerfield. 

IN  the  autumn  of  1675  the  theatre  of  the  so-called  King 
Philip's  War  was  transferred  from  the  Narragansett 
country  to  the  Connecticut  Valley,  centering  about  the 
frontier  settlements  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach.  This  war 
was  begun  the  previous  summer  with  the  outbreak  of  the 
Poconokets,  or  Wampanoags,  led  by  Philip,  or  Metacomo, 
son  and  second  successor  of  that  Massasoit  who  welcomed 
the  Pilgrims  at  their  coming,  and  soon  engaged  the  tribes 
of  interior  Massachusetts  and  involved  all  the  New  England 
colonies.  While  Uncas  and  his  Mohegans,  with  the  minor 
tribes  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Connecticut  Colony, 
remained  faithful  to  and  fought  together  with  the  whites, 
almost  every  town  in  the  Valley  was  endangered,  and  the 
whole  region  felt  the  effect  of  the  conflict  of  nearly  a  year's 
duration,  direful  to  the  colonies  and  ruinous  to  the  tribes. 
The  Indians  of  this  war  were  a  far  more  formidable 
enemy  than  the  Pequots  thirty-eight  years  before.  Their 
weapons  were  no  longer  confined  to  the  arrow,  the  toma- 
hawk, and  the  scalping  knife.     The  "  lust  of  gain  "  on 

113 


114  Connecticut  River 

the  part  of  white  men  had  supplied  many  of  them,  in  de- 
fiance of  prohibitory  laws,  with  firearms,  powder,  and  shot. 
They  fought,  as  before,  with  stealthy  surprise  and  from 
ambush,  but  with  a  much  greater  familiarity  with  the 
methods  of  the  English.  They  had  lived  closer  to  the 
colonists,  generally  in  amicable  relations,  and  had  thus 
become  intimate  with  their  homes  and  their  customs,  and 
they  knew  the  most  vulnerable  points  of  attack.  The 
English  armies  brought  into  the  field  were  also  vastly  dif- 
ferent from  the  bands  of  yoemanry,  intrepid  though  they 
were,  who  had  overwhelmed  the  Pequots.  They  included 
troops  of  horse  and  infantry,  enlisted  in  the  several  colo- 
nies, all  under  experienced  officers,  —  none,  however,  abler 
or  braver  than  Mason,  Underbill,  and  Stoughton  of  the 
Pequot  War.  The  Connecticut  forces  raised  in  the  River 
towns  were  sometime  under  Major  Treat,  Mason's  succes- 
sor as  military  chief  of  the  colony;  but  at  the  outset 
Major  John  Pynchon  of  Springfield,  son  of  the  foimder, 
William  Pynchon,  was  the  chief  commander. 

The  war  was  shifted  to  the  Valley  upon  the  scattering 
of  Philip  and  his  warriors  by  the  "  Swamp  Fight "  at 
Tiverton,  Rhode  Island,  in  July,  and  their  flight  to  the 
Nipmucks'  country  in  central  Massachusetts ;  and  upon 
the  seige  and  burning  of  Brookfield  by  the  Nipmucks  in 
August,  just  before  Philip's  arrival  at  their  rendezvous. 
The  conflict,  impelled  at  the  outset  by  the  "  impulse  of 
suspicion  on  the  one  side  and  passion  on  the  other,"  was 
now  assuming  what  the  colonists  had  feared  and  expected 
to  prevent  by  the  crushing  of  the  Wampanoags  in  their 
own  country,  —  the  proportions  of  a  general  Indian  up- 
rising. 

That  Philip  had  been  plotting  in  secret  the  union  of 
tribes  for  such  an  uprising  had  repeatedly  been  charged ; 


Philip's  War  in  the  Valley  115 

but  evidence  of  a  deliberate  conspiracy  was  wanting.  The 
haughty  chieftain  had  grieved  at  the  steady  curtailment 
of  the  dominions  of  the  tribes,  repenting  with  others  the 
"  alienation  of  vast  tracts  by  affixing  a  shapeless  mark  to 
a  bond"  ;  had  been  among  the  first  of  the  chiefs  to  fore- 
see the  danger  of  extermination;  and  had  resented  the 
English  claim  to  jurisdiction  over  his  people.  Suspected 
of  hostile  intentions,  he  had  suffered  the  indignity  of  being 
compelled  to  surrender  his  English  firearms,  and  to  enter 
into  certain  stipulations  with  the  Plymouth  Colony.  Ac- 
cused of  failing  to  fulfil  these  stipulations,  he  had  been 
sentenced  to  pay  a  heavy  tribute.  The  earlier  opening  of 
war  upon  him  by  Plymouth  had  been  prevented  only 
through  the  interposition  of  the  Bay  Colony  magistrates, 
to  whom  he  appealed,  and  his  acknowledgment  of  the  un- 
conditional supremacy  of  the  Plymouth  Colony.  At  about 
this  time  he  had  as  a  sort  of  secretary  or  counsellor  a 
"  Praying  Indian,"  one  of  the  converts  to  the  Englishmen's 
religion  and  sometime  a  teacher  in  the  Indian  village  at 
Natick,  near  Boston,  who  had  apostatized  and  fled  to  him. 
Subsequently  this  Indian,  reclaimed  through  the  efforts  of 
the  good  apostle,  Eliot,  reported  that  he  was  engaged  anew 
in  a  hostile  plot.  Thereupon  he  was  summoned  to  submit 
to  another  examination,  and  the  wrath  of  his  fighting  men 
was  thus  aroused.  The  informer  was  waylaid  and  killed. 
Three  of  Philip's  men,  accused  of  the  assassination,  were 
taken  by  the  Plymouth  authorities,  tried  by  a  jury  com- 
posed one-half  of  Englishmen,  the  other  half  of  Indians, 
convicted  on  slender  evidence,  and  hanged.  The  young 
warriors  of  the  tribe,  panting  for  revenge,  retaliated  with 
attacks  upon  Swansea.  At  once  the  alarm  of  war  spread 
through  the  colonies.  "  Thus  was  Philip  hurried  into  his 
'  rebellion,'  and  he  is  reported  to  have  wept  as  he  heard 


116  Connecticut  River 

that  a  white  man's  blood  was  shed.  .  .  .  Against  his 
judgment  and  his  will  he  was  involved  in  war."  So  Ban- 
croft records.  Some  other  historians,  assuming  that  Philip's 
plans  were  to  spring  the  war  a  year  later,  account  for 
these  tears  in  his  distress  at  the  premature  outbreak.  The 
argument  of  Bancroft  appears  the  more  reasonable.  "  For 
what  chance  had  he  of  success  ?  The  English  were  imited ; 
the  Indians  had  no  alliance.  .  .  .  The  English  had  towns 
for  their  shelter  and  safe  retreat ;  the  miserable  wigwams 
of  the  natives  were  defenceless ;  the  English  had  sure  sup- 
plies of  food;  the  Indians  might  easily  lose  their  pre- 
carious stores."  The  Wampanoags'  country  had  become 
narrowed  to  the  neck  or  eastern  shore  of  Narragansett 
Bay ;  the  Narragansetts,  ultimately  brought  into  the  con- 
flict, were  hemmed  in  on  the  western  shore.  Other  tribes 
were  drawn  into  the  war  for  similar  reasons.  "  The  wild 
inhabitants  of  the  woods  or  the  seashore  could  not  under- 
stand the  duty  of  allegiance  to  an  unknown  sovereign,  or 
acknowledge  the  binding  force  of  a  political  compact; 
crowded  by  hated  neighbors,  losing  fields  and  hunting 
grounds  .  .  .  they  sighed  for  the  forest  freedom  which 
was  their  immemorial  birthright." 

At  the  beginning  of  hostilities  in  the  Valley,  Northfield 
and  Deerfield  were  the  frontier  settlements  on  the  River 
northward,  the  former  but  two  years  old,  the  latter  scarcely 
four.  Brookfield,  about  thirty  miles  back  from  the  River, 
^v'ith  the  forest  intervening,  was  the  nearest  settlement 
eastward.  Lancaster,  on  the  Nashua  River,  about  twenty- 
five  miles  northeast  of  Brookfield,  was  the  next  frontier 
Bay  settlement.  On  the  west  of  the  River  frontier  towns 
was  the  almost  unbroken  wilderness  extending  to  the  Hud- 
son.    Westfield,  ten  miles  west  of  Springfield,  was  the  re- 


'■cgfaMaftggBff 


A  River  Fishing  Camp — Camp  VVopowog,  near  East  HadUam. 


Philip's  War  in  the  Valley  117 

motest  plantation  on  this  side.  Early  in  the  conflict  both 
Northfield  and  Deerfield  were  abandoned,  leaving  Hatfield, 
Hadley,  and  Northampton  the  frontiers. 

Hadley  became  the  headquarters  of  military  operations 
in  the  Valley,  and  in  late  August  and  early  September  of 
1675  the  little  town  of  five  hundred  inhabitants  was  alive 
with  the  coming  and  going  of  soldiers.  There  were  at  one 
time  and  another  during  these  months.  Major  Treat  with  a 
hundred  or  more  Connecticut  troops ;  Captain  Appleton  of 
Ipswich,  eastern  Massachusetts,  commanding  Bay  men: 
Captain  Thomas  Lothrop  of  Beverly,  with  his  choice  com- 
pany, the  "  Flower  of  Essex,"  all  "  culled "  out  of  the 
towns  belonging  to  that  county,  Salem,  Danvers,  Ipswich, 
and  the  rest ;  Captain  Richard  Beers  of  Watertown,  near 
Boston,  with  his  company  of  foot  and  horse ;  Lieutenant 
William  Cooper  with  Springfield  men ;  Captain  Samuel 
Moseley  of  Boston,  who  had  commanded  a  privateer  in 
the  waters  of  the  West  Indies ;  and  a  body  of  friendly  Mo- 
hegans  imder  a  son  of  Uncas.  The  higher  officers  estab- 
lished themselves  at  the  parsonage,  where  Parson  John 
RusseU  and  his  competent  wife  provided  generous  hospital- 
ity during  the  campaign,  drawing  "  divers  barrels  of  beer, 
and  much  wine,"  and  setting  forth  a  bountiful  table. 

Looking  out,  perhaps,  upon  this  martial  scene  from  his 
place  of  concealment  in  the  minister's  house,  and,  also 
perhaps,  longing  to  have  part  in  it,  was  the  "regicide," 
Goffe,  one  of  the  three  of  the  body  of  judges  who  con- 
demned Charles  I  to  the  block,  who  had  escaped  to  New 
England  upon  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts  in  1660,  and, 
finding  refuge  in  Connecticut,  had  been  shifted  from  place 
to  place  by  their  steadfast  friends  when  the  agents  of  the 
crown  were  after  them. 

We  say  perhaps,  for  there  is  not  a  scrap  of  trustworthy 


118  Connecticut  River 

record  associating  the  old  Cromwellian  warrior  with  this 
momentous  time,  although  he  was  then  concealed  in  the 
house  of  the  Hadley  minister.  The  story  of  his  miraculous 
appearance  among  the  people  of  Hadley  when,  at  a  Fast 
Day  service  on  the  first  of  September,  the  meeting-house 
where  they  were  gathered  was  suddenly  surrounded  and 
attacked  by  a  body  of  Indians;  of  the  leadership  of  the 
venerable  stranger,  with  flowing  white  locks,  and  quaint 
garb,  in  the  rout  of  the  enemy ;  and  of  his  as  miraculous 
disappearance  immediately  afterward,  leaving  the  awed 
people  with  the  conviction  that  "  an  angel  from  God  had 
delivered  and  saved  them"  ; — this  thrilling  story,  which 
Scott,  Hawthorne,  and  Cooper,  historians,  poets,  story- 
writers,  and  orators  have  woven  in  tale  and  verse  and 
impassioned  passage,  must  be  dismissed  as  pure  romance. 
Reluctant  as  is  even  the  bloodless  historical  investigator 
to  abandon  it  as  a  substantial  historical  fact,  for  there  is 
no  more  inspiring  tradition  in  the  annals  of  New  England, 
it  falls  to  pieces  with  the  simple  search  of  the  records. 
George  Sheldon,  the  Deerfield  historian,  has  applied  this 
cold  test  with  fatal  results.  He  found  the  legend  published 
for  the  first  time  in  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachu- 
setts eighty-nine  years  after  the  "event,"  and  based  upon 
an  unauthenticated  anecdote.  It  is  given  in  connection 
with  Hutchinson's  account  of  the  wanderings  of  the  "  regi- 
cides," derived  from  Goffe's  diary  covering  their  adven- 
tures for  six  or  seven  years.  No  mention  of  such  an  inci- 
dent appears  in  this  diary,  and  Hutchinson  relates  it  solely 
as  "  an  anecdote  handed  down  through  Governor  Leverett's 
family."  From  this  and  this  only  the  legend  evolved  in 
print  and  gained  with  each  nan-ator  till  it  reached  the  dig- 
nity of  an  accepted  fact  of  history.  Not  a  hint  of  it  is 
given  by  the  contemporaneous  historians  of  the  Indian  wars, 


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Philip's  War  in  the  Valley  119 

nor  does  it  appear  in  the  relations  of  Connecticut  Valley 
families. 

And  from  a  record  as  slender  has  developed  the  circum- 
stantial story  of  the  attack  on  Hadley  at  the  date  given. 
Hubbard  in  his  authorized  history  of  the  Indian  wars 
makes  no  allusion  whatever  to  an  attack  here  at  that  time. 
Nor  does  Solomon  Stoddard,  the  minister  of  Northampton, 
mention  it  in  his  letter  to  Increase  Mather,  minister  of  the 
Second  Church  in  Boston,  under  date  of  September  15 
(old  style),  wherein  he  gives  a  minute  account  of  the  events 
of  the  preceding  three  weeks  in  the  Valley  towns.  In- 
crease Mather  alone  has  this  statement  in  his  history  of  the 
wars  :  "  On  the  first  of  September  1675  one  of  our  churches 
in  Boston  was  seeking  the  face  of  God  by  fasting  and 
prayer  before  him ;  also  that  very  day  the  chm-cli  in  Had- 
ley was  before  the  Lord  in  the  same  way  but  were  driven 
from  the  holy  service  by  a  most  sudden  and  violent  alarm 
which  routed  them  the  whole  day  after."  Hutchinson, 
the  next  narrator,  nearly  a  century  later,  repeats  Mather's 
statement,  but  enlarges  the  "alarm"  into  an  "attack." 
Then  thirty  years  after  Hutchinson  comes  President  Stiles 
of  Yale,  in  his  History  of  Tliree  of  the  Judges  of  King 
Cliarles  I,  elaborating  the  "attack"  into  a  battle  about  the 
meeting-house,  and  adding  the  "angel"  part  to  the  "true 
story  "  of  Goffe's  appearance,  "  told,"  he  says,  at  the  time 
he  wrote,  "  in  variations  in  various  parts  of  New  England." 
So  the  wondrous  tale  grew  to  its  perfection. 

On  that  first  day  of  September  (0.  S.)  Deerfield  was 
violently  attacked  and  burned ;  and  in  this  affair  Sheldon 
reasonably  sees  the  occasion  of  the  Hadley  "alarm"  which 
Mather  recorded.  Some  latter  day  historians  and  writers 
have  fitted  the  Goffe  tradition  to  a  date  nine  months  later, 
or  June  12,  1676,  when  the  Indians  really  did  fall  upon 


120  Connecticut  River 

Hadley,  as  Hubbard  relates  in  detail.  But  this  theory 
Sheldon  shatters  as  completely  as  he  destroys  the  tradition, 
by  massing  these  unquestioned  facts :  that  June  12, 1676, 
"  was  not  a  Fast  Day ;  the  inhabitants  were  not  assembled 
in  the  meeting-house ;  the  attack  was  made  upon  a  small 
party  who  had  fallen  in  an  ambuscade ;  it  was  made  early 
in  the  morning ;  tlie  town  was  not  in  a  defenceless  posi- 
tion," for  five  hundred  Connecticut  men  under  Major  Tal- 
cott  had  recently  arrived,  joining  others  already  in  the 
village,  so  that  no  Cromwellian  leader  or  "  angel "  was 
necessary  for  its  deliverance. 

Sheldon's  refutation  of  this  cherished  tradition  was 
published  thirty  years  ago.  But  still  the  tale  is  told ;  and 
the  credulous  stranger  is  confidently  shown  the  spot  where 
the  "battle"  about  the  meeting-house  was  fought  imder  the 
lead  of  the  mysterious  captain  who  appeared  "like  an 
angel  from  heaven."  The  stranger  shall  see,  however,  a 
genuine  landmark  in  the  site  of  the  parsonage  which 
sheltered  the  mysterious  captain. 

The  war  was  precipitated  in  the  River  towns  by  an  at- 
tempt to  disarm  a  band  of  the  local  Pocumtucks  and  others 
who  had  made  a  pretense  of  friendliness,  but  were  suspected 
of  intention  to  join  Philip's  allies  concentrating  in  the 
woods  between  Hadley  and  Northfield ;  by  pursuit  of  them 
when  they  fled  from  their  fort  in  Hatfield  and  were  actu- 
ally on  the  way ;  and  by  a  fight  with  them  in  a  swamp 
south  of  Sugarloaf  peak,  from  which  they  escaped.  This 
encounter  occurred  on  one  of  the  last  days  of  August,  and 
engaged  Captains  Lothrop  and  Beers  with  their  men. 
Earlier  small  garrisons  had  been  posted  at  Northampton, 
Hatfield,  Deerfield  (then  Pocumtuck),  and  Northfield  (then 
Squakheag).     The  fight  under  the  shadow  of  Sugarloaf 


Philip's  War  in  the  Valley  121 

was  followed  by  the  first  overt  act,  the  attack  upon  Deer- 
field  of  September  1  (0.  S.).  In  this  affair  the  settlers  had 
barely  time  to  reach  the  garrison  houses  before  these  shel- 
ters were  besieged.  They  were  successfully  defended,  but 
the  force  was  too  weak  in  numbers  to  sally  out  and  drive 
the  enemy.  So  the  savages  were  able  to  plunder  and  burn 
several  houses  and  barns  before  they  left. 

On  the  very  next  day,  September  2  (0.  S.),  the  outpost 
of  Northfield  was  attacked.  This  infant  settlement  then 
comprised  a  collection  of  log  huts,  the  central  one  being 
the  meeting-house,  surrounded  by  a  stockade  and  fort.  The 
enemy  surprised  the  settlers  when  they  were  about  their  daily 
work.  Some  were  cut  down  in  their  houses,  others  while 
coming  from  the  meadows.  Eight  were  killed.  The  rest, 
men,  women,  and  children,  crowded  into  the  fort,  whence 
they  witnessed  the  slaughter  of  their  cattle,  the  destruction 
of  their  grain,  and  the  burning  of  the  few  houses  outside 
the  stockade.  The  following  day,  unaware  of  this  attack, 
and  supposing  that  the  "  hostiles  "  were  now  all  on  the 
west  side  of  the  River,  Captain  Beers  was  despatched  from 
Hadley  with  thirty-six  troopers  and  a  supply  train  of  ox- 
carts, to  secure  the  Northfield  garrison. 

Theirs  was  a  fatal  journey  ending  in  the  first  crushing 
disaster  of  the  campaign  in  the  Valley. 

The  post  was  in  the  wilderness  thirty  miles  distant 
from  Hadley.  The  way  to  it  lay  along  the  east  side  of  the 
River  through  a  forest  almost  continuous,  marked  by  rough 
wood-paths  or  trails,  where  now  are  the  towns  of  Sunder- 
land, Montague,  and  Erving.  At  night  the  command 
bivouacked  in  a  pleasant  spot  above  Miller's  River.  The 
next  morning,  leaving  their  horses  under  guard,  they  con- 
tinued on  foot  with  the  supply  wagons,  having  no  thought 
of  danger  in  their  path.     So  they  marched  on  unguard- 


122  Connecticut  River 

edly  to  a  point  within  about  two  miles  of  their  destinaition. 
Here,  in  a  swampy  ravine,  the  enemy  were  awaiting  them 
in  an  ambuscade.  They  fell  into  the  snare  without  a  mo- 
ment's warning,  and  a  considerable  number  were  instantly 
slain.  The  survivors  scattered;  but,  soon  rallied  by  Cap- 
tain Beers,  they  made  a  stand  on  the  side  of  a  hill  above 
the  ravine.  This  ground  was  bravely  held  against  an 
overwhelming  force  till  the  captain  fell.  Then  the  rem- 
nant broke,  and,  leaving  the  carts  and  their  wounded  be- 
hind, fled  back  through  the  forest  to  Hadley.  Of  the 
thirty-six  troopers  of  the  command  only  sixteen  escaped. 
Three  taken  prisoners  were  said  to  have  been  burned  at  the 
stake  on  the  battlefield. 

The  ground  where  the  trap  was  sprung  is  now  known 
in  Northfield  as  "  Beers's  Plain,"  and  the  hill  where  the 
captain  fought  to  his  death  is  to-day  "  Beers's  Mountain." 
It  is  an  eminence  in  the  range  which  extends  on  the 
east  side  of  the  town.  Here,  on  the  south  side,  is  the 
captain's  grave.  Both  Beers's  Plain  and  the  grave  are 
now  suitably  marked  by  tablets.  Beers  was  an  officer,  we 
are  told,  of  sterling  valor,  and  a  public  servant  of  "  approved 
patriotism  and  usefulness."  At  the  time  that  he  fell  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Court,  where 
he  had  represented  his  town  for  thirteen  years.  He  had 
been  in  this  Squakheag  country  five  years  before  as  a  mem- 
ber of  a  prospecting  party.  So,  as  the  local  historians 
remark,  he  was  among  the  first  of  Europeans  to  see  this 
beautiful  and  fertile  tract,  and  one  of  the  first  to  be  buried 
in  its  soil. 

Two  days  after  the  Northfield  disaster,  when  the  sur- 
vivors had  returned  to  camp  with  their  story.  Major 
Treat  with  a  hundred  dragoons  hastened  up  to  succor  the 
Northfield  force  and  settlers,  and  to  take  them  off  if  any 


Philip's  War  in  the  Valley  123 

remained.  Coming  upon  the  ground  of  the  fight,  the  troops 
were  startled  and  most  "  solemnly  affected"  by  the  specta- 
cle of  a  row  of  twenty  ghastly  heads  of  the  dead  soldiers 
stuck  upon  poles  set  up  near  the  roadside ;  and  one  awful 
figure  hanging  from  the  bough  of  a  tree  by  a  chain  hooked 
into  the  under  jaw,  having  the  appearance  of  being  thus  sus- 
pended while  yet  alive.  The  "  doleful  sight "  quickened  their 
steps.  Reaching  the  garrison  the  people  were  found  safe 
inside  the  stockade  where  they  had  been  confined  for  five 
days.  The  bodies  of  the  slain  still  lay  on  the  meadow 
where  they  fell,  and  a  detachment  was  detailed  to  bm*y 
them.  In  the  midst  of  this  pious  duty  the  men  were  sur- 
prised by  a  volley  from  neighboring  bushes  in  which  Indi- 
ans had  been  skulking,  and  Major  Treat  was  hit  by  a 
spent  ball.  In  fear  of  a  general  attack  the  work  was  ab- 
ruptly stopped,  with  only  one  body  buried,  —  that  of 
Sergeant  Wright  of  Northampton,  the  commander  of  the  gar- 
rison, —  and  preparations  were  hastened  for  departure.  At 
dusk  all  were  hurried  off  with  what  they  could  carry.  On 
the  fearsome  return  march,  constantly  apprehensive  of 
some  deadly  surprise  in  the  sombre  woods,  they  were 
cheered  by  an  unexpected  meeting  with  Captain  Appleton 
coming  up  with  an  additional  force.  He  would  have  them 
turn  back  and  with  the  combined  forces  give  the  enemy 
chase.  But  the  strain  had  been  too  much.  The  "  greatest 
part"  advised  "to  the  contrary."  So  the  march  was  re- 
sumed, and  Hadleyat  length  reached. 

After  the  English  evacuation  the  Indians  burned  what 
was  left  of  Northfield,  the  fort,  and  the  houses.  In  subse- 
quent periods  of  the  war,  the  place  was  a  rendezvous  of  the 
River  tribes  consorting  with  Philip. 

With  the  abandonment  of  Northfield,  Deerfield  became 


124  Connecticut  River 

the  outermost  town.  It  was  now  a  weak  hamlet  of  a  few 
settlers,  much  exposed  by  their  situation  to  the  enemy. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  its  inhabitants,  according  to 
Sheldon,  numbered  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five,  of 
whom  only  twenty-five  or  thirty  were  men.  The  houses 
were  scattered  the  length  of  the  present  Deerfield  Old 
Street,  the  pride  of  the  beautiful  town.  Three  of  the 
houses  were  fortified  with  palisades.  These  were  the  gar- 
rison houses  or  forts.  The  principal  one  was  the  "  Stock- 
well  Fort"  on  Meetinghouse  Hill,  the  natural  centre  of 
the  town,  where  it  is  now  the  Common  with  its  monu- 
ments. This  was  the  house  of  Quintin  Stockwell,  where 
the  minister  boarded.  The  other  two  garrison  houses  were 
north  and  south  of  it.  In  both  these  directions  the  road 
dropped  from  the  hill  into  a  quagmire,  which  was  covered 
with  a  causeway  of  logs.  On  three  sides  of  the  village 
were  the  deep  open  meadows  spreading  north,  south,  and 
westward  to  the  virgin  forest.  From  the  hills  on  the  east 
and  west  every  movement  in  the  Valley  town  could  be  ob- 
served by  the  Indian  spies.  So  the  post  was  a  difficult 
one  to  defend.  The  outlet  to  the  other  settlements  was  by 
way  of  Hatfield,  the  nearest  plantation,  on  the  south. 

On  September  10  (0.  S.),  shortly  after  the  return  from 
Northfield,  Captain  Appleton  was  sent  up  to  garrison  Deer- 
field  with  his  men.  Two  days  later,  on  a  Sunday,  the 
place  was  again  attacked.  The  preparations  for  the  as- 
sault were  stealthily  made  while  the  soldiers  were  collected 
with  the  settlers  in  the  Stockwell  Fort  at  the  Sunday  ser- 
vice. In  the  swamp  north  of  Meetinghouse  Hill  an  am- 
bush was  laid  to  cut  off  the  men  of  the  north  garrison  upon 
their  return.  After  the  service,  as  a  body  of  twenty-two 
were  crossing  the  causeway,  they  were  fired  upon  from  this 
ambuscade.     Only  one  was  wounded,  however,  and  all 


o 

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a 


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Philip's  War  in  tlie  Valley  125 

managed  to  retreat  to  Stockwell's.  Then,  turning  to  the 
north,  the  enemy  intercepted  the  one  sentinel  in  the  north 
fort,  and  he  was  "  never  afterward  heard  from."  Apple- 
ton  rallied  his  men  and  sallying  from  his  cover  succeeded 
in  driving  the  savages  from  the  village.  But  before  this 
was  accomplished  the  north  fort  had  been  set  on  fire,  much 
of  the  live  stock  had  been  killed  or  captured,  and  provi- 
sions and  other  spoils  had  been  taken  to  the  Indian  ren- 
dezvous on  Pine  Hill,  north  of  the  Street. 

An  "  express  "  carried  the  news  of  this  affair  to  North- 
ampton, and  by  Monday  night  a  party  of  volunteers,  with 
some  of  Captain  Lothrop's  company,  arrived  to  the  town's 
relief.  The  next  morning  the  combined  forces  under 
Appleton's  lead  marched  up  to  Pine  Hill,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose, for  the  savages  had  fled.  That  night  Captain  Moseley 
was  despatched  from  Hadley  to  strengthen  the  Deerfield 
garrison. 

Now  approached  "  that  most  fatal  day,  the  saddest 
that  ever  befel  New  England,"  as  Hubbard  wrote,  —  the 
day  of  the  disastrous  "  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook." 


X 

The  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook 

Slaughter  of  the  "Flower  of  Essex"  at  South  Deerfield  while  Convoying  a 
Provision  Train  —  The  Sudden  Attack  from  Ambush  by  a  Swarm  of 
Braves  —  Many  of  Captain  Lothrop's  Men  idly  gathering  Grapes  by  the 
Brookside  when  the  Warwhoop  rang  out  —  Desperate  After-fight  by 
Captain  Moseley — Memorials  of  the  Battle  —  The  Legend  of  "King 
Philip's  Chair  "  — Destraction  of  Deerfield. 

THIS  was  the  calamitous  engagement  at  Bloody  Brook, 
in  South  Deerfield,  less  than  a  week  after  the  Sunday 
raid  upon  the  Deerfield  garrison,  in  which  were  miserably 
slaughtered  the  "  Flower  of  Essex,"  siu-prised  by  a  body 
of  nearly  a  thousand  of  the  enemy  in  ambush. 

Captain  Lothrop  had  volunteered  his  command  to  con- 
voy a  provision  train  laden  with  a  quantity  of  threshed 
wheat  from  Deerfield  to  the  headquarters  at  Hadley. 
This  was  to  be  added  to  the  stores  for  the  supply  of  the 
forces  now  concentrating  at  Hadley  preparatory  to  the 
undertaking  of  aggressive  operations  in  the  field,  in  accord- 
ance with  new  orders  from  the  council  of  war  at  Hartford, 
issued  after  the  Northfield  affan.  With  eighty  of  his 
picked  men  Lothrop  had  reached  Deerfield  without  hin- 
drance, and  was  on  the  return  march  to  Hadley  with  the 
train  of  ox-carts  with  Deerfield  men  as  drivers,  when  the 
trap  was  sprung. 

The  procession,  headed  by  the  troops  with  the  string 
of  carts  following,  had  filed  through  Deerfield  Old  Street, 
passed   up  Bars    Long  Hill,    and  proceeded    slowly  and 

126 


The  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook  127 

carelessly  along  the  old  Hatfield  road,  then  the  narr^. 
Pocumtuck  Path  through  the  primeval  woods.  "  Conh 
dent  in  their  numbers,  scorning  danger,  not  even  a  van- 
guard or  flanker  was  thrown  out "  by  the  captain.  From 
the  top  of  Long  Hill  the  path,  as  Sheldon  in  his  Deerfield 
history  definitely  outlines  it,  lay  through  the  dense  forest 
for  a  mile  and  a  half ;  then  approached  on  the  left  a  nar- 
row swampy  thicket  trending  southward,  through  which 
the  brook  crept  sluggishly;  then  skirted  this  swamp  an- 
other mile  to  a  point  where  the  brook  narrowed  and  turned 
to  the  right ;  here  crossed  the  brook  diagonally,  leaving  the 
marsh  on  the  right.  The  soldiers  had  reached  thus  far 
and  halted  on  the  other  side  of  the  brook  while  the  teams 
behind  were  slowly  dragging  their  heavy  loads  through 
the  mire.  So  care-free  were  they  that  many  of  them  put 
their  guns  in  the  carts  and  left  the  path  to  gather  the 
luscious  grapes  then  in  abundance  on  the  wayside.  These 
"  proved  dear  and  deadly  grapes  to  them,''  says  Mather. 
For  close  by,  as  Sheldon  pictures,  ''  the  silent  morass  on 
either  flank  was  covered  witli  grim  warriors  prone  upon 
the  groimd,  their  tawny  bodies  indistinguishable  from 
the  slime  in  which  they  crawled,  or  their  scarlet  plumes 
and  crimson  paint  from  the  glowing  tints  of  the  dying 
year  on  leaf  and  vine.  Eagerly,  but  breathless  and  still, 
they  waited  the  signal."  The  hidden  mass  of  near  a  thou- 
sand comprised  Nipmucks,  Philip's  Wampanoags,  and  the 
local  Pocumtuck  clans,  led  by  the  sachems  who  had  di- 
rected the  surprise  at  Northfield.  Suddenly  the  fierce  war- 
whoop  rang  in  the  ears  of  the  astonished  Englishmen,  and 
a  murderous  volley  burst  from  the  morass. 

A  considerable  number  dropped  at  the  first  fire.  Lothrop 
held  to  the  theory  of  fighting  Indians  in  their  own  way. 
Quickly  recovering  from  the  surprise,  he  apparently  directed 


128  Connecticut  River 

his  men  to  take  to  the  cover  of  the  nearest  trees  and  pick 
off  the  enemy,  each  singling  out  his  man,  after  the  Indian 
mode  of  warfare.  At  the  first  assault  the  "  godly  and 
courageous  commander"  himself  fell  fighting,  leaving  the 
command  without  a  head.  Almost  immediately  they  were 
surrounded.  And  so  the  fine,  brave  fellows,  "  none  of 
whom  was  ashamed  to  speak  with  the  enemy  in  the  gate," 
were  miserably  crushed  by  overwhelming  numbers,  and 
finally  sank,  "  one  great  sacrifice  to  the  tomahawk." 
Only  seven  or  eight  escaped  the  dreadful  onslaught.  Of 
the  Deerfield  men  who  had  charge  of  the  carts  as  teamsters, 
seventeen  in  all,  none  survived. 

Captain  Moseley,  ranging  the  woods  in  another  direc- 
tion with  sixty  men,  heard  the  firing  and  hastened  to  the 
scene.  When  he  arrived  the  massacre  was  complete,  and 
many  of  the  victors  remaining  on  the  field  were  stripping 
the  dead  and  plundering  the  carts.  Charging  into  the 
disorganized  mass,  he  drove  them  from  their  prey.  Some 
of  the  eastern  Indians  among  them  recognized  him,  and 
as  they  stood  off  with  the  rest  dared  him  to  combat. 
"Come,  Moseley,  come,"  they  shouted  derisively,  "you 
seek  Indians,  here's  Indians  enough  for  you!"  With  his 
force  in  a  compact  body  he  at  once  "  swept  through  them, 
cutting  down  all  within  the  reach  of  his  fire."  Thus  he 
fought  for  five  or  six  long  hom's,  checking  all  attempts  of 
the  Indians  to  surround  his  men,  or  get  at  the  wounded. 
Still  he  was  unable  to  rout  them  or  keep  them  long  off  their 
rich  plunder.  At  length,  when  about  to  withdraw  fi-om 
the  unequal  conflict,  relief  suddenly  came.  Major  Treat 
appeared  with  a  hundred  Connecticut  soldiers,  and  a  band 
of  Mohegans  led  by  a  son  of  Uncas.  Treat  had  been 
marching  up  from  Northampton,  and  on  the  way  had 
heard  the  firing.     Following  the  sound  he  came  upon  the 


The  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook  129 

conflict.  With  his  arrival  the  enemy  broke.  They  were 
pursued  through  the  woods  and  swamps  till  nightfall 
ended  the  chase.  Moseley's  loss  in  the  day's  engagement 
was  slight. 

The  united  forces  marched  back  to  Deerfield  with  the 
wounded,  and  spent  the  night  there.  The  next  morning, 
Sunday,  they  returned  to  the  field  to  bury  the  dead. 
Scouts  were  sent  out  and  sentinels  posted  to  prevent  a  sur- 
prise while  the  work  was  in  progress.  A  common  grave 
was  dug  some  rods  from  the  fatal  morass,  and  here  the 
'"'  Flower  of  Essex  "  were  buried  with  a  soldier's  tribute. 

The  spot  where  the  attack  began  was  marked  with  a 
little  wooden  monument  by  the  settlers  who  came  in  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  the  sluggish  stream  w^as  given 
the  crimson  name  it  has  since  borne.  A  century  and  a 
half  later,  the  common  grave  of  the  slain  was  identified  and 
marked  by  a  flat  stone,  which  one  may  now  see  in  a  front 
yard  close  to  the  sidew^alk  of  the  South  Deerfield  main 
street.  At  the  same  time  the  present  monument,  a  shaft 
of  stone,  was  erected  to  mark  the  battlefield.  This  monu- 
ment stands  near  the  edge  of  the  morass  in  which  the 
Indians  formed  their  ambuscade.  It  was  at  the  laying  of 
the  corner-stone,  on  the  30th  of  September,  1835,  that 
Edward  Everett  delivered  his  oration  on  the  Battle  of 
Bloody  Brook,  passages  from  which  school-boys  of  past 
generations  have  eloquently  declaimed.  To  the  same 
occasion,  Mrs.  Sigourney,  the  "  bard  of  Hartford,"  contrib- 
uted a  poem.  At  subsequent  observances  of  the  anniver- 
sary the  Kev.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  nephew  of  the  first 
orator,  and  William  Everett,  the  orator's  son,  contributed 
poems  which  survive  in  the  literature  of  the  Valley.  The 
modern  electric  car,  thundering  through  the  peaceful  vil- 
lage, between  Deerfield  and  Hatfield   and  Northampton 


130  Connecticut  River 

below,  skirts  the  scene  of  "  Bloody  Brook,"  and  passes 
close  by  the  quaint  monument  inscribed  with  its  story. 

On  the  face  of  South  Sugarloaf,  in  a  recess  in  the 
cliff  below  a  great  shelf  of  rock  jutting  out  from  the  front, 
is  the  sheltered  "King  Philip's  Chair,"  whence,  as  runs 
the  tradition  of  the  Valley,  the  great  chieftain  beheld  the 
affair  at  the  brook,  of  his  planning.  But  as  Sheldon, 
best  of  authorities,  asserts,  "there  is  no  evidence  that 
Philip  was  present,  and  the  probabilities  are  against  it." 
Still  the  place  and  the  legend  survive,  and  doubtless  will 
survive,  fixtures  in  history,  unscathed  by  the  assaults  of 
iconoclasts.  The  spot  is  most  sightly  and  commands  a 
superb  sweep  of  view.  In  the  little  village  the  sanguinary 
name  of  the  tragic  brook  is  preserved  in  local  titles ; 
most  conspicuously  appearing  on  the  inn  with  its  vine- 
covered  double  front  piazzas.  Standing  back  from  the 
pleasant  main  street,  it  bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
country  tavern  of  simpler  days  than  these,  which  we  term 
and  sometimes  welcome  as  old-fashioned. 

While  Captain  Moseley  and  Major  Treat  were  on  the 
battle-ground  with  their  men  engaged  in  burying  the 
dead,  Deerfield  was  having  another  experience  with  the 
enemy.  A  lot  of  them  were  passing  by  the  garrison  in 
an  attempt  to  retmrn  to  the  prey  at  the  brook.  As  a 
challenge  they  hung  up  in  sight  of  the  garrison  some 
English  garments  probably  taken  from  the  bodies  of  the 
slain  in  the  battle.  But  Captain  Appleton  frightened 
them  away  by  the  clever  and  not  uncommon  stratagem  of 
causing  his  trumpeter  to  sound  a  call  as  if  summoning 
troops  in  reserve.  Three  or  four  days  later  Deerfield  was 
finally  abandoned.  The  troops  were  ordered  back  to 
Hadley,  and  the  inhabitants  were  scattered  in  the  several 


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The  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook  131 

towns  below.     Shortly  after  the  Indians  wholly  destroyed 
the  settlement. 

The  eventful  month  of  September  closed  with  a  series 
of  sporadic  attacks  in  various  sections.  On  the  26th 
(0.  S.)  Major  Pynchon's  farmhouse,  barns,  and  crops  on 
the  west  side  of  the  River  opposite  Springfield  were  burned. 
On  the  28th  two  Northampton  men,  "  Praisever  Turner 
and  Uzackaby  Shackspeer,"  were  killed,  when  outside 
that  village  to  cut  wood.  "  The  Indians  cut  off  their 
scalps,  took  their  arms,  and  were  gone  in  a  trice."  On 
the  30th  (0.  S.)  Pynchon  wrote  from  Hadley  to  Governor 
Leverett  in  Boston,  "  We  are  endeavoring  to  discover  y^ 
enemy,  dayly  send  out  scouts,  but  little  is  effected.  We 
find  y*  Indians  have  their  scouts  out.  .  .  .  We  are  waiting 
for  an  opportunity  to  fall  upon  y®  Indians  if  the  Lord 
please  to  grant  it  to  us."  The  war  councils  were  plan- 
ning a  general  movement  to  clear  the  Valley  of  the 
enemy.  It  was  proposed  to  regain  the  Northfield  post 
and  establish  headquarters  there  for  the  Connecticut  troops. 
The  commissioners  at  Boston  were  arranging  to  send  out 
a  flying  army  of  a  thousand  men. 

At  the  same  time  Philip's  chieftains  were  planning  a 
wider  campaign.  The  settlement  at  Springfield  was  marked 
next  for  destruction.  The  "  hostiles,"  now  in  alliance  with 
the  Springfield  Indians,  were  gathering  in  force  in  a  hid- 
ing place  about  six  miles  from  the  town,  ready  at  the  word 
to  spring  on  their  foe. 


XI 

The  Burning  of  Springfield 

With  Pledges  of  Fidelity  the  Agawam  Indians  concoct  a  "  Horrible  Plot  "  — 
Bands  of  Philip's  Warriors  secretly  admitted  to  the  Indian  Fort  on  the 
Outskirts  of  the  Town  —  A  Night  Alarm  —  Early  Morning  Attack  upon 
Messengers  Riding  out  to  Reconnoitre — The  full  Pack  soon  upon  the  Village 
—  The  People  crowding  the  Garrison  House  —  A  wild  Scene  of  Havoc  with 
the  Town  in  Flames  —  Major  Pynchon's  Forced  March  from  Hadley  to  its 
Relief  —  Grave  After-events. 

TIE  Springfield  or  Agawam  Indians  had  been  the 
staunchest  friends  of  the  English.  At  the  outbreak 
of  Philip's  War  they  had  made  pretentious  display  of 
their  loyalty,  and  were  implicity  trusted  by  the  colonists. 
Wequogan,  their  chief,  had  given  hostages  for  their  fidelity 
who  were  quartered  at  Hartford  under  slight  guard.  On 
October  3  (0.  S.),  the  pledges  were  renewed  with  much 
show  of  sincerity  while  they  were  secretly  plotting  a  rising. 
The  following  day,  under  orders,  but  against  his  judgment, 
Major  Pynchon  started  off  with  the  garrison  for  the  head- 
quarters at  Hadley,  thus  leaving  the  town  entirely  unpro- 
tected. The  only  other  troops  in  the  immediate  region 
were  Major  Treat's  command  at  Westfield,  back  from  the 
West  side  of  the  River.  Just  before  Pynchon's  departure 
Wequogan  had  cunningly  withdrawn  his  hostages  from 
Hartford;  and  after  nightfall,  when  the  troops  were  all 
gone,  some  three  hundred  of  Philip's  warriors  were  se- 
cretly admitted  to  the  Indian  fort. 

This  fort  was  on  Long  Hill,  about  a  mile  south  of  the 

132 


The  Burning  of  Springfield  133 

centre  of  the  settlement.  It  is  supposed  to  have  stood  on 
a  plateau  at  the  head  of  a  ravine  which  extended  from  the 
top  of  the  hill.  Its  presumed  site  is  now  pointed  out  on 
the  way  to  Longmeadow.  Springfield  then  spread  along 
the  west  side  of  a  single  thoroughfare,  now  the  Main 
Street,  running  north  and  south  less  than  three  miles,  each 
house-lot  extending  from  the  street  to  the  River.  It  com- 
prised not  over  forty-five  dwellings.  Chief  among  these 
was  Major  Pynchon's  house,  standing  just  north  of  the 
present  Fort  Street.  His  was  the  only  brick  house,  the 
others  being  wooden,  mostly  with  thatched  roofs.  It  was 
the  principal  one  of  three  fortified  houses :  the  other  two 
situated  near  the  southerly  end  of  the  single  street.  The 
minister's  house  stood  near  the  head  of  the  present  Vernon 
Street.  The  principal  landing  place  on  the  River  was  at 
the  foot  of  Elm  Street,  off  the  present  Court  Square. 

The  rising  was  timed  for  early  morning  of  the  5th  (0. 
S.).  But  most  unexpectedly  the  scheme  was  divulged  the 
night  before,  delaying  its  execution  a  few  hours.  The  dis- 
closiu-e  was  curiously  made  at  Windsor  twenty  miles  down 
the  River.  A  friendly  Indian,  Toto  by  name,  domesticated 
in  the  home  of  Oliver  Wolcott  there,  had  become  possessed 
of  the  secret,  and  ''  it  stirred  the  very  depths  of  his  na- 
ture." His  agitation  was  so  intense  as  to  disquiet  the 
family.  Urged  to  tell  what  troubled  him  he  finally  let  out 
the  whole  "  horrid  plot."  Immediately  Wolcott  despatched 
messengers  on  horseback,  one  to  warn  Springfield,  the 
other  to  inform  Major  Treat  at  Westfield.  The  swift  rider 
for  Springfield  entered  the  town  at  midnight,  and  roused 
the  villagers  with  his  startling  tale.  All  fled  with  their 
portable  belongings  to  the  garrisoned  houses.  Pelatiah 
Glover,  the  minister,  removed  his  "  brave  library,"  one  of 
the  best  in  the  Valley,  to  the  Pynchon  house. 


134  Connecticut  River 

The  night  wore  on  without  event,  and  the  morning 
opened  peacefully.  No  sign  appeared  of  a  hostile  move- 
ment, nor  a  single  threatening  Indian.  Therefore  the 
people  felt  assured  that  the  night  alarm  was  a  false  one, 
and  most  of  them  prepared  to  return  to  their  own  homes. 
The  minister  set  the  example  and  carried  his  library  back 
to  the  parsonage.  Meanwhile  Lieutenant  Thomas  Cooper, 
who  for  some  reason  had  remained  in  the  village,  started 
off  for  the  Indian  fort,  to  learn  the  situation  there.  He 
had  discredited  the  Windsor  report  and  was  firm  in  the 
belief  that  the  Agaw^ams  were  true.  He  had  long  been  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  tribe,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury had  been  a  familiar  figure  among  them.  With  him 
went  Thomas  Miller,  the  town  constable.  The  two  men 
rode  their  horses  at  a  brisk  pace  down  the  town  street  and 
toward  Long  Hill.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond  the  most 
southerly  house  they  entered  the  woods  which  then  skirted 
the  settlement.  Suddenly  shots  came  from  an  ambuscade. 
Miller  w^as  instantly  killed.  Cooper  fell  from  his  horse 
mortally  wounded.  But  being  ''  an  athletic  and  resolute 
man,"  although  nearing  sixty,  he  contrived  to  pull  himself 
up  into  the  saddle  again.  Turning  his  horse  he  dashed 
back  at  full  speed  to  give  the  alarm.  A  horde  of  savages 
leaped  from  their  ambush  and  ran  after  him,  firing  as  they 
ran.  He  was  hit  by  another  ball,  and  had  barely  reached 
the  P^yTichon  house  when  he  expired. 

Soon  the  whole  force  of  ^'  hostiles  "  from  the  fort  were 
upon  the  settlement.  The  inhabitants  again  managed  to 
get  under  cover  of  the  fortified  houses,  and  from  the  loop- 
holes looked  out  upon  a  wild  scene  of  havoc.  They  saw" 
their  unguarded  homes  and  their  barns  filled  with  winter 
stores  plundered  and  set  afire ;  and  shortly  nearly  the 
whole  town  in  flames.     The  trusted  chief,  Wequogan,  was 


The  Burning  of  Springfield  135 

seen  to  be  the  "  ringleader  in  word  and  deed."  Another 
sachem  loudly  proclaimed  that  he  "was  one  who  had 
burned  Quaboag  [Brookfield]  and  would  serve  them  the 
same  way."  Shots  were  exchanged  between  the  Indians 
and  the  men  in  the  fortified  houses,  and  several  of  the  as- 
sailants fell.  One  savage  was  using  as  a  shield  a  large 
pewter  platter  taken  from  a  dwelling,  which  marked  him 
as  a  target.  He  received  a  mortal  wound  from  a  bullet 
smashing  through  it.  Of  the  townspeople  one  woman  was 
killed.  She  was  the  wife  of  John  Matthews,  the  drummer, 
who  had  gone  off  with  the  garrison  soldiers.  Five  others 
were  wounded,  one  mortally.  "Within  a  short  time  thirty- 
two  of  the  forty-five  dwellings  were  in  ashes.  The  minis- 
ter's house  went  down  with  his  "  brave  library."  All  the 
barns,  twenty-four  or  twenty-five  of  them,  were  in  flames. 
Major  Pynchon's  grist  and  corn  mills  were  burned.  Most 
of  the  corn  in  the  town  stored  for  the  winter  was  consumed. 
Early  in  the  forenoon  Major  Treat  with  his  Connecticut 
troops  reached  the  west  side  of  the  River.  Five  brave  men 
left  their  cover,  probably  the  Pynchon  house,  to  help  his 
command  across.  Though  pursued  by  twenty  Indians  they 
got  a  boat  to  the  opposite  shore.  It  was  quickly  filled 
with  some  of  Treat's  soldiers,  but  the  Indians  on  the  east 
bank  held  them  at  bay,  and  they  durst  not  venture  over. 
Relief,  however,  was  hastening  forward  from  another  di- 
rection. Major  Pynchon,  informed  of  Toto's  story  by  a 
messenger  sent  out  at  the  midnight  alarm,  was  hurrying 
back  from  Hadley  with  two  hundred  men.  Major  Apple- 
ton  was  with  them  as  second  in  command.  Marching  so 
rapidly  that  all  were  put  "  into  a  violent  sweat,"  they  ar- 
rived upon  the  scene  at  mid-afternoon.  Till  their  approach 
the  devastating  work  had  gone  on  practically  unchecked. 
But  when  they  entered  the  burning  town  the  assailants  had 


136  Connecticut  River 

all  vanished.  Their  spies  had  signalled  the  coming  of  the 
soldiers  by  ''  hoops  [whoops]  or  watchwords."  Now  Major 
Treat's  force  came  across  the  River  and  joined  Major  Pyn- 
chon's  men  eager  to  give  chase  to  the  enemy.  Scouting 
parties  were  at  once  sent  out,  and  the  woods  were  scoured. 
But  not  a  brave  was  discovered.  Their  fort  was  deserted, 
and  no  trace  of  a  new  rendezvous  could  be  found.  Their 
tracks  pointed  in  various  directions  manifestly  with  the 
design  of  throwing  pursuers  off  the  track.  It  was  a 
masterly  retreat,  planned,  as  was  the  attack,  later  histori- 
ans conclude,  by  Philip.  It  is  assumed  that  he  returned 
with  his  clan  and  part  of  the  Pocumtucks  to  the  Narragan- 
setts'  country,  with  a  new  plan  to  involve  that  tribe  in  the 
war ;  while  the  other  bands  worked  their  way  back  to  their 
fastnesses  about  the  deserted  Deerfield  and  Northfield. 
The  number  engaged  in  the  Springfield  attack  was  given 
by  the  messenger  to  Pynchon  as  five  hundred ;  the  Spring- 
field Indians,  warriors,  women,  and  children,  numbered 
about  two  hundred. 

Now  of  the  upper  River  towns  only  Northampton,  Had- 
ley,  and  Hatfield  remained  undespoiled,  and  the  Connecticut 
towns  below  were  imperiled.  Two  days  after  the  fall  of 
Springfield  an  alarm  was  raised  in  Glastonbury  by  the  dis- 
covery of  "  hostiles "  hovering  about  its  neighborhood. 
They  were  probably  of  Philip's  band  on  their  way  to  the 
Narragansetts.  Major  Treat  was  then  ordered  back  to 
Hartford  for  the  protection  of  the  lower  towns.  All  was 
anxiety  throughout  this  region.  To  stimulate  the  Mohe- 
gans  to  greater  activity  the  Hartford  government  offered 
liberal  boimties  for  scalps  of  the  "hostiles"  brought  in. 
Men  in  the  threatened  towns  went  out  in  large  parties  to 
harvest  the  late  crops,  and  to  store  the  grain  in  safe  places, 


The  Burning  of  Springfield  137 

while  provision  was  made  for  the  security  of  the  women 
and  children. 

In  ruined  Springfield  a  strong  disposition  was  manifest 
to  abandon  the  place.  This  Major  Pynchon  deplored,  for 
its  desertion  would  encourage  the  "  insolent  enemy "  and 
"  make  way  for  giving  up  all  the  towns  above."  Governor 
Leverett  at  Boston  took  a  similar  view.  It ''  would  be  a 
more  awful  stroke  that  hath  such  a  consequence  as  to 
break  up  a  church  and  town,"  he  wrote.  But  he  could 
only  advise  that  the  matter  be  left  "  to  the  Lord,  directing 
you  on  the  place."  Pynchon,  sorely  disturbed,  asked  to 
be  relieved  of  his  military  command,  his  own  and  the 
townspeople's  affairs  requiring  his  undivided  attention. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  Captain  now  Major  Apple- 
ton  succeeded  him  as  commander-in-chief.  Pynchon  re- 
peated his  plea  for  the  constant  garrisoning  of  all  the 
towns.  The  sack  of  Springfield  was  an  awful  instance  of 
the  result  of  the  withdrawal  of  a  guard.  The  Bay  council, 
however,  still  clung  to  the  policy  of  combined  oj)erations 
in  the  field.  But  no  town  was  again  left  wholly  unprotect- 
ed. Major  Appleton  left  a  good  guard  at  SjDringfield, 
under  Captain  Sill,  when  he  marched  back  to  headquarters 
at  Hadley.  At  Northampton  Captain  Sully  was  stationed 
with  a  small  body ;  and  Captain  Moseley  at  Hatfield.  So 
Springfield  was  not  abandoned ;  the  "  awful  stroke  "  that 
its  desertion  would  entail  was  averted ;  and  the  settlement 
slowly  recovered  from  its  affliction. 

With  the  advance  of  October,  however,  affairs  grew 
steadily  graver  in  the  River  towns  and  to  the  westward. 
The  enemy  appeared  to  be  threatening  nearly  every  settle- 
ment from  Hartford  to  the  frontier.  Innnediately  upon 
his  return  to  Hadley  Major  Appleton  sent  out  scouting 


138  Connecticut  River 

parties  to  seek  the  enemy's  hiding  places.  On  the  15th 
(0.  S.)  he  himself  marched  out  with  almost  his  entire  force, 
bomid  for  Northfield,  his  scouts  having  learned  that  they 
were  collected  there.  But  when  two  miles  on  the  way 
word  came  that  Moseley's  scouts  had  reported  great  num- 
bers assembled  about  Deerfield.  Accordingly  he  changed 
his  course  and  crossed  the  River  to  Hatfield.  Thence  a 
night  expedition  to  Deerfield  was  attempted.  Early  on 
the  march  the  report  of  a  gun  and  distant  Indian  shouts 
warned  the  vanguard  that  the  movement  was  discovered. 
So  a  hurried  return  was  made  to  secure  the  defenceless 
towns.  Next  evening  an  urgent  call  for  help  came  to 
headquarters  from  Northampton,  which  was  threatened ;  at 
the  same  time  Moseley  reported  the  enemy  within  a  mile 
of  Hatfield. 

That  night  Moseley  made  a  reconnoissance,  but  without 
result.  He  discovered,  however,  through  an  Indian  captive, 
a  great  plot.  A  simultaneous  attack  upon  Hatfield,  Had- 
ley,  and  Northampton  had  been  planned,  and  a  large  body 
of  Indians  were  in  the  scheme.  This  captive  was  a  poor 
old  squaw  who  had  been  taken  at  Springfield  after  the 
burning.  The  record  of  her  cruel  treatment  is  one  of  the 
great  black  blots  on  the  annals  of  colonial  warfare. 

On  the  margin  of  a  letter  to  the  governor  at  Boston  re- 
porting this  plot,  Captain  Moseley  wrote :  ''  The  aforesaid 
Indian  was  ordered  to  be  toume  in  peeces  by  dogs  &  shee 
was  so  delt  withall."  What  was  the  woman's  crime,  if 
any  other  than  association  with  a  treacherous  foe,  that 
brought  upon  her  such  an  a^\^ul  fate  after  she  had  divulged 
her  important  information  and  so  put  the  English  on  guard, 
no  record  tells.  Nothing  in  contemporary  papers  is  found 
in  mitigation  of  such  a  barbarous  act  by  civilized  men. 
The  grim  postscript  to  the  Indian  fighter's  letter  appears 


The  Burning  of  Springfield  139 

alone  in  the  documents.  The  historian  of  Springfield  de- 
clines to  believe  that  the  evil  deed  was  done  by  order  of 
the  English.  He  would  more  readily  accept  a  story  that 
the  squaw  had  returned  to  her  people  and  suffered  death 
for  serving  the  colonists.  But  Moseley's  postscript  too 
definitely  fixes  the  act  on  the  whites.  We  know  that  dogs 
were  employed  in  colonial  Indian  warfare.  At  the  outset 
of  this  war  the  use  of  bloodhounds  was  proposed  to  hunt  the 
enemy  down.  Later  Parson  Stoddard  of  Northampton, 
ordinarily  kind  of  heart,  earnestly  urged  this  measure  upon 
Governor  Dudley,  justifying  it  on  the  ground  that  the 
savages  were  like  wolves  in  their  conduct,  and  should  be 
dealt  with  as  wolves.  Subsequently,  in  1706,  in  Queen 
Anne's  War,  the  Bay  General  Court  offered  bounties  for 
raising  and  training  war-dogs,  and  established  the  rank  of 
hunt-sergeant  for  the  military  officer  having  charge  of  packs 
of  hounds  in  ranging  the  woods  for  Indians. 

At  about  the  same  time  that  Moseley  learned  from  the 
captured  squaw  of  the  proposed  combined  attack  upon  the 
three  frontier  towns,  the  Hartford  government  was  startled 
by  word  from  Andros  in  New  York  of  a  plot  for  a  general 
uprising  of  all  the  Connecticut  Indians.  Five  or  six  thou- 
sand of  them,  Andros  wrote,  designed  "  this  light  moon  " 
to  attack  Hartford  and  points  westward  so  far  as  Green- 
wich. Thereupon  Hartford  and  the  other  places  indicated 
were  fortified  and  troops  were  raised  for  defence.  Thus 
this  plot,  if  it  existed  (and  the  historians  generally  accept 
the  report  as  true),  was  frustrated. 

From  another  direction  came  a  definite  report  of 
Philip's  new  schemes  in  the  Valley  campaign.  Roger 
Williams,  writing  from  Providence  to  Governor  Leverett 
at  Boston,  told  of  hearing  of  Philip's  great  design, — to 
draw   Captain   Moseley  and    others    "  by   trayning,    and 


140  Connecticut  River 

drilling,  and  seeming  flight,"  into  "  such  places  as  are  full  of 
long  grass,  flags,  sedge  &c.  and  then  environ  them  round 
with  fire,  smoke,  and  bullets."  "  Some  say,"  he  added, 
"  no  wise  soldier  will  be  so  catcht." 

But  several  of  Moseley's  mounted  scouts  were  just  so 
"  catcht."  It  was  in  a  manoeuvre  preceding  an  attack  in 
force  upon  Hatfield,  according  to  the  plan  which  the  cap- 
tive squaw  had  divulged  to  Moseley.  On  October  19  (0.  S.) 
at  noon,  fires  were  observed  in  the  woods  about  Sugar- 
loaf,  and  the  troopers  sent  out  to  reconnoitre.  Two  miles 
from  the  town  they  fell  suddenly  into  a  trap  for  which 
the  fires  were  the  bait.  Six  were  killed,  and  three  taken 
prisoners.  Only  one  escaped,  and  he  was  an  Indian.  Gallop- 
ing back  to  Hatfield,  he  gave  the  alarm,  which  was  repeated 
to  Major  Appleton  at  Hadley. 

The  attack  upon  Hatfield  followed  at  about  four  of  the 
October  afternoon.  It  was  met  in  unexpected  fashion. 
Major  Appleton  coming  over  had  taken  a  post  at  the  south 
end  of  the  town ;  Captain  Moseley  occupied  the  middle ; 
and  Captain  Poole  the  north  end.  The  enemy  began  the 
assault  from  all  quarters.  But  at  each  point  they  were 
checked  by  the  English  fire,  and  their  every  attempt  to 
})reak  in  upon  the  town  was  resisted.  The  contest  con- 
tinued hotly  for  two  hours.  Then  Major  Treat  coming  up 
from  Northampton  with  a  force  of  Connecticut  men,  the 
finishing  blow  was  given,  and  the  enemy  broke  and  fled. 
Their  loss  had  been  considerable,  while  that  of  the  English 
was  light.  Three  of  the  English  were  carried  off  as  pris- 
oners. One  of  these  unhappy  men  was  afterward  horribly 
tormented  and  at  length  put  to  death.  "  They  burnt  his 
nails,  and  put  his  feet  to  scald  against  the  fire,  and  drove 
a  stake  through  one  of  his  feet  to  pin  him  to  the  ground." 


The  Burning  of  Springfield  141 

The  Hatfield  experience  was  a  great  surprise  to  the  In- 
dian war-chiefs,  and  changed  their  plans.  Instead  of  fur- 
ther efforts  to  wipe  out  the  towns  by  direct  attack  with 
large  bodies,  it  was  decided  to  break  up  into  small  bands 
and  harass  the  settlements,  kill,  pillage,  and  burn  as  chance 
offered.  During  the  next  fortnight  this  course  was  pursued 
to  some  extent.  In  Northampton  several  houses  and  barns 
were  burned.  A  few  days  later  a  group  of  farmers  gather- 
ing crops  in  the  Northampton  meadows  were  fired  upon 
and  three  killed.  Two  days  before,  Major  Pynchon  and 
several  companions,  returning  to  Springfield  from  Westfield, 
were  caught  in  an  ambuscade.  Three  were  shot  down ; 
the  rest  escaped.  Later  a  band  were  again  prowling  about 
Hatfield,  but  approaching  soldiers  frightened  them  off. 

With  the  opening  of  November  the  woods  for  ten  or 
twelve  miles  roundabout  were  scoured  by  troopers,  but  no 
enemy  were  found.  They  were  now  gone  into  winter 
quarters,  mostly  northward  and  westward.  The  campaign 
for  this  season  was  ended  in  the  Valley,  to  be  renewed  the 
next  spring.  By  mid-November  the  army  withdrew  from 
headquarters,  leaving  garrisons  in  each  of  the  towns. 


XII 

The  Rising  of  the  Narragansetts 

Canonchet  drawn  into  Philip's  "War  —  Flight  of  his  Tribe  toward  the  Valley  — 
Ravages  of  Frontier  Towns  on  the  Way  —  The  great  Indian  Rendezvous 
about  Northfield — Attacks  upon  Northampton,  Hatfield,  and  Longmeadow 
— Death  of  Canonchet :  A  Hero  of  his  Race  —  The  Great  Falls  Fight :  An 
English  Victory  followed  by  a  Disastrous  Rout.  —  A  Chaplain's  Experience 
—  Final  Attacks  upon  Hatfield  and  Hadley  —  End  of  Philip's  War  — 
Death  of  Philip,  deserted  and  betrayed  —  Results  of  the  War  to  the 
Colonists. 

FIVE  days  after  the  burning  of  Springfield  Philip 
reached  the  Narragansett  country,  "loaded  with 
spoils  from  the  English."  Less  than  four  weeks  later  the 
colonies  declared  war  against  the  Narragansetts.  The 
"  young  prince  "  of  this  tribe,  Canonchet,  son  of  Mian- 
tonomah,  had  as  yet  committed  no  overt  act  of  hostility, 
but  he  was  under  suspicion  and  believed  to  be  yielding  to 
Philip's  influence.  He  had,  indeed,  broken  the  treaty  of 
neutrality  forced  from  him  at  the  beginning  of  Philip's 
War  by  the  commissioners  of  the  colonies  "  with  a  sword 
in  their  hands,"  in  defiantly  sheltering  and  refusing  to 
surrender  fugitive  "hostiles."  But  this  had  been  done 
openly,  and  with  the  emphatic  declaration  that  he  would 
not  give  up  a  Wampanoag,  not  even  "  the  paring  of  a 
Wampanoag's  nail."  The  colonial  councils  determined 
upon  a  winter's  campaign  in  the  hope  of  crushing  the 
tribe  with  a  quick  stinging  blow,  when  they  were  least  pre- 
pared to  parry  it.  For  the  winter  was  the  Indians'  hibernat- 
ing season ;  and  the  frozen  swamps  made  their  fastnesses 

142 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  143 

more  accessible  to  beseigers.  Accordingly  an  army  of  a 
thousand  men,  one-half  of  them  troopers,  was  immediately 
levied,  and  set  in  motion  for  this  adventure.  Five  com- 
panies under  Major  Treat  were  Connecticut's  quota.  Early 
in  December  Major  Treat  left  the  Valley  with  three  hun- 
dred Connecticut  troops  and  half  as  many  Mohegans. 
Major  Appleton  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Bay  forces.  Governor  Josiah  Winslow  of  Plymouth,  son 
of  the  first  Governor  Winslow,  was  named  chief  of  the 
combined  army. 

Meanwhile  the  people  of  the  Valley  towns  were  living  in 
a  continual  state  of  imeasiness.  Attack  from  below,  by  way 
of  the  Narragansett  country,  was  constantly  feared.  The 
season  was  largely  spent  in  fortifying  houses  and  in  build- 
ing stockades  aroimd  the  towns.  The  palisades  were  sim- 
ple constructions  of  cleft  wood,  designed  to  break  the  force 
of  a  sudden  assault  rather  than  to  serve  as  substantial  de- 
fences, though,  as  after  events  showed,  they  did  effectively 
fill  the  latter  purpose. 

The  upper  route  eastward  by  the  Bay  Path  was  early 
closed  by  the  hostile  Nipmucks,  and  tidings  from  the  new 
seat  of  war  were  received  only  through  the  soldiers  in  the 
Narragansett  campaign.  News  therefore  of  the  outcome 
of  the  expedition  travelled  slowly  to  the  River  towns.  At 
length  they  learned  of  the  downfall  of  the  Narragansett 
stronghold  in  the  "  Great  Swamp  Fight"  of  December  19 
(0.  S.)  in  what  is  now  South  Kingston,  Rhode  Island,  and 
of  the  scattering  of  the  broken  and  infuriated  tribe  through 
the  woods  northward  into  the  Nipmuck  country,  just  as 
the  Wampanoags  had  been  shattered  and  dispersed  with  the 
opening  onslaught  of  Philip's  war.  In  this  second  and 
greatest  "Swamp  Fight"  all  the  horrors  of  the  Pequot 
massacre  were  repeated  with  the  storming  of  the  Indian 


144  Connecticut  River 

fort.  The  wigwams,  "  at  least  five  hundred  in  number," 
were  set  afire,  and  many  old  warriors,  women,  and  children 
perished  in  the  flames ;  the  winter's  stores  were  consumed ; 
and  of  four  thousand  Indians  estimated  to  have  been  in  the 
fort,  nearly  two-thirds  were  killed,  burned,  or  captured. 
But  the  English  losses  also  were  heavy,  with  six  captains 
among  the  slain. 

There  soon  followed  the  news  of  the  junction  of  the  sur- 
viving Narragansetts  with  the  Nipmuck  "hostiles  "  and  a 
remnant  of  Philip's  men ;  then  startling  reports  of  ravages 
of  frontier  Massachusetts  settlements  on  the  road  to  Con- 
necticut. In  February  came  the  destruction  of  Lancaster, 
with  the  slaughter  of  most  of  the  men  of  its  fifty  or  sixty 
families,  and  the  capture  of  the  women  and  children,  in- 
cluding Mrs.  Rowlandson,  the  minister's  wife;  ten  days 
after,  the  partial  destruction  of  Medfield,  farther  eastward ; 
the  next  day,  the  attack  upon  Weymouth,  nearer  Boston. 
Five  days  later  followed  the  first  attack  upon  Groton; 
after  an  interval  of  a  week,  a  second  assault,  and  four  days 
later  a  third,  so  disastrous  that  the  town  was  deserted. 
At  the  opening  of  March  the  enemy  were  again  gathered 
in  force  in  the  Valley,  this  time  northward,  at  the  chief 
rendezvous  at  Squakheag,  where  had  been  Northfield,  and 
whose  territory  included  the  present  Vernon,  Vermont 
side,  and  Hinsdale  and  Winchester,  New  Hampshire. 

Major  Thomas  Savage  of  Boston  was  now  sent  up  from 
the  east  with  companies  of  foot  and  horse  to  join  with  the 
Connecticut  forces  in  again  protecting  this  frontier.  In  a 
fortnight  hostilities  had  reopened  in  the  Valley. 

A  formidable  spring  campaign  had  been  planned  by 
the  Indian  chiefs  in  council  in  the  northern  camps.  Shel- 
don gives  the  scheme  in  fullest  detail.     The  Pocumtucks 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  145 

and  Wampanoags,  with  new  allies, — young  warriors  from 
the  Mahicans  and  the  Mohawks  of  the  west,  and  some  In- 
dians from  Canada,  —  were  to  rendezvous  at  Squakheag 
and  thence  sweep  down  upon  the  Valley  towns  in  large 
bodies,  while  the  Nipmucks  and  Narragansetts  were  simul- 
taneously to  ravage  the  Bay  frontiers  eastward,  so  heading 
off  aid  from  that  quarter.  Thus  the  Valley  was  to  be 
speedily  cleared  of  the  English.  With  this  accomplished, 
headquarters  were  to  be  established  about  Deerfield,  "  the 
non-combatants  collected,  the  fields  planted  with  Indian 
corn,  and  a  winter's  stock  of  fish  laid  up  from  the  abun- 
dance of  the  streams."  The  victors  were  to  be  under  the 
protection  of  the  French,  who  were  to  come  down  from 
Canada  and  settle  among  them  in  place  of  the  English. 
With  the  driving  of  the  English  from  the  Valley  the 
"  traitorous  Mohegans  "  would  be  annihilated.  This  great 
scheme,  however,  the  too  artful  Philip  spoiled  through 
his  overreaching  diplomacy.  After  the  Narragansetts  had 
been  drawn  in  he  bent  his  energies  to  embroiling  the  fierce 
Mohawks.  He  had  so  far  reconciled  them  with  the  Pocum- 
tucks  whom  they  had  fought,  that  they  agreed  to  join  in 
warring  against  the  Mohegans  ;  but  they  would  not  consent 
to  fight  the  English.  Thereupon  the  cunning  diplomat, 
with  the  unscrupulousness  that  has  sometimes  distinguished 
the  modern  kind,  played  his  trump  card.  Secretly  causing 
a  number  of  Mohawks  to  be  killed,  he  accused  the  English 
of  their  murder.  But  the  result  which  he  counted  upon 
failed  to  follow,  through  an  extraordinary  happening. 
One  of  the  victims,  supposed  to  be  surely  dead,  revived,  and 
reaching  his  people  reported  the  true  circumstances  of  their 
undoing.  Enraged  at  the  trick,  the  Mohawks  fell  upon 
the  tribes  in  the  Pocumtucks'  camp,  killing  and  capturing 
many.     Thus  an  old  enemy  was  newly  aroused  instead  of 


146  Connecticut  River 

won  as  an  ally,  and  the  union  of  all  the  clans  in  a  common 
cause  made  impossible.  After  the  Mohawk  attack  Philip 
and  the  discomfited  Pocumtucks  fled  to  the  Sqaukheag 
rendezvous,  which  they  reached  toward  the  close  of  Feb- 
ruary. 

There  were  now  in  the  Squakheag  camps,  Canonchet, 
—  young,  able,  haughty,  tall  and  commanding,  with  the 
"  well-knit  form  of  an  athlete  "  ;  twelve  hundred  of  his 
Narragansett  warriors  and  their  sachems ;  bands  of  Nip- 
mucks  ;  Philip  and  the  chief  men  of  his  tribe ;  the  sm- 
vivors  of  the  Pocumtuck  confederation ;  a  few  western 
volimteers ;  some  Abenakis  from  the  east  and  north ;  and 
a  number  of  the  apostate  Christians  from  the  Bay  towns 
of  "  Praying  Indians  "  — those  "  pious  lambs  "  who  "  proved 
the  worst  wolves  of  the  whole  bloody  crew."  Canonchet 
was  the  real  leader. 

Such  were  the  swarms  collected  and  making  ready  for 
action  when  on  March  2  (O.S.)  Major  Savage's  forces  joined 
those  of  Major  Treat  at  Brookfield.  In  Major  Savage's 
command  again  came  Captain  Moseley,  now  with  a  com- 
pany of  infantry.  Major  Treat  had  three  or  four  com- 
panies, footrsoldiers  and  troopers.  After  a  few  days  spent 
in  beating  the  woods  about  Brookfield  on  the  trail  of  the 
Narragansetts,  but  meeting  none.  Major  Savage  moved  up 
to  Hadley,  and  Major  Treat  to  Northampton.  Captain 
William  Turner  of  Major  Savage's  forces,  was  stationed 
with  his  company  at  Northampton ;  and  Captain  Moseley 
at  Hatfield. 

Unaware  of  these  later  movements,  and  so  believing  the 
River  towns  to  be  free  from  troops,  two  days  after  Canon- 
chef  s  arrival  at  Squakheag  the  council  of  chiefs  convened, 
and  ordered  the  opening  of  the  campaign  with  an  attack 
upon  Northampton. 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  147 

The  night  before  the  departure  of  the  force  was  given 
up  to  a  great  war-dauce  by  the  braves,  while  the  women 
prepared  the  supplies  for  the  expedition.  Just  before  day- 
break on  the  morning  of  the  14th  (O.S.)  the  enemy  arrived 
at  the  sleeping  town,  behind  the  line  of  palisades  erected 
in  the  winter.  Noiselessly  the  palisades  were  broken  in 
three  places  and  through  the  gaps  thus  made  the  hordes 
crept  in.  At  daylight  they  began  the  assault  by  firing  the 
houses.  Ten  were  ablaze  before  the  garrison  was  fairly 
aroused.  Then,  to  the  amazement  of  the  assailants,  the 
troops  of  Major  Treat  and  Captain  Turner  were  upon  them. 
Attempting  to  scatter,  they  found  themselves  "as  in  a 
pound."  Panic  stricken,  they  rushed  pellmell  for  the  gaps 
by  which  they  had  entered,  and,  under  a  galling  fire, 
tumbled  through  and  incontinently  fled.  Next  they  made 
for  Hatfield,  expecting  to  find  that  settlement  an  easier 
prey.  But  here  they  were  again  confounded  by  encoun- 
tering Captain  Moseley,  who  gave  them  a  warm  reception 
and  speedily  drove  them  off.  Angered  by  these  repulses, 
they  now  planned  a  night  surprise  upon  Northampton. 
At  about  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  (O.S.)  they 
stealthily  crept  up  to  the  town  from  two  directions.  But 
the  sentinels  discovered  their  approach  and  gave  the  alarm. 
So  this  game  was  lost  and  they  instantly  vanished.  The 
main  body  returned  dejectedly  to  the  Squakheag  camps 
taking  with  them  the  little  plunder  that  they  had  secured, 
mainly  horses  and  sheep;  while  small  bands  remained 
behind  to  hover  about  the  outskirts  of  the  town  and  harass 
the  people  whenever  and  wherever  chance  offered. 

The  failure  of  the  Northampton  expedition,  with  the  dis- 
covery of  troops  again  in  force  in  the  Valley,  gave  a  radical 
turn  to  affairs  at  Squakheag.    Philip  moved  his  camp  from 


148  Connecticut  Ri\er 

the  west  side  of  the  River  to  the  east  side  where  Canon- 
chef  s  councils  were  held.  A  few  days  later  five  hundred 
Nipmucks  were  sent  down  to  Deerfield  to  guard  the  Indian 
frontier  there.  Discontent  began  to  manifest  itself  in  the 
Squakheag  camps.  This  feeling  was  soon  heightened  by 
news  of  the  f ailiure  of  an  expedition  to  Canada  for  powder 
in  exchange  for  captives  taken  at  Lancaster.  The  expedi- 
tion had  been  intercepted  on  the  way  by  Mohawks,  and 
two  of  the  Pocuratucks  in  it  were  among  the  killed.  Upon 
Philip  alone  was  charged  the  new  enmity  of  the  Mohawks, 
and  the  disposition  to  desert  him  gained  threatening  head- 
way. The  exhaustion  of  the  winter's  stock  of  provisions 
and  the  lack  of  seed  for  planting  added  to  the  distress  of 
the  situation.  Canonchet  advised  the  occupation  of  the 
Deerfield  meadows  for  a  general  planting  place.  Of  seed 
there  was  a  plenty  in  the  "  barns  "  (excavations  in  the 
earth  for  storing  provisions)  at  Narragansett,  and  he  en- 
gaged himself  to  go  and  obtain  a  supply  of  it.  With  an 
escort  of  thu*ty  reluctant  volunteers,  for  there  was  no  glory 
and  much  peril  in  the  adventure,  he  started  at  once  upon 
this  mission.     He  was  never  more  seen  in  the  Valley. 

While  these  things  were  going  on  in  the  Indian  camps 
the  marauding  bands,  shifting  hither  and  thither  in  the 
country  below,  were  committing  frequent  depredations 
about  the  lower  Valley  towns.  To  prevent  surprises  by 
them,  the  war  council  at  Hartford  devised  a  system  for  the 
continual  guarding  of  the  settlements.  The  night  watch 
in  each  town  was  required  to  call  up  its  inhabitants  every 
morning,  "  an  hour  at  least  before  day,"  who  were  to  arm 
and  stand  upon  guard  at  assigned  posts  till  the  sun  was 
half  an  hour  high.  Then  their  places  were  to  be  taken 
by  the  wardens ;  while  two  mounted  scouts,  one  at  each 
end  of  the  town,  were  to  spend  the  day  in  scouring  the 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  149 

neighboring  woods.  At  this  time  the  roving  enemy  toward 
the  eastward  were  creating  fresh  alarms  in  Bay  Colony 
towns,  and  also  in  Plymouth  Colony.  On  the  17th  of  March 
(O.S.)  Warwick,  Rhode  Island,  was  burned.  So  alarming 
was  the  situation  becoming  that  the  Bay  Colony  war 
council  advised  Major  Savage  to  desert  all  the  Valley 
towns  except  Springfield  and  Hadley,  and  to  concentrate 
his  strength  at  these  points,  "the  lesser  towns  to  gather 
to  the  greater."  This  advice  was  sent  out  from  Boston  on 
the  20th  (O.S.). 

Within  a  week  a  series  of  assaults  upon  widely  separ- 
ated communities  happened  on  a  single  day.  This  was 
the  26th  of  March,  a  Sunday.  In  the  Valley  there  was  a 
raid  upon  Windsor;  the  plantation  of  Simsbury,  newly 
formed  from  the  west  side  of  Windsor,  was  burned ;  and 
villagers  of  Longmeadow,  next  below  Springfield,  were 
cruelly  assailed.  To  the  eastward,  Marlborough  in  the 
Bay  Colony  was  burned ;  and  in  Ptymouth  Colony  a  com- 
pany of  Scituate  soldiers  were  massacred  in  ambush  near 
Rehoboth. 

The  Longmeadow  affair  was  the  most  distressing  of 
the  events  in  the  Valley  on  this  direful  day. 

The  people  attacked  were  in  a  cavalcade  on  their  way 
to  meeting  at  Springfield  for  the  first  time  since  the  winter 
had  set  in,  for  the  road  through  the  woods  was  now  deemed 
safe,  no  "  hostiles  "  having  been  seen  for  some  time  in  the 
vicinity.  There  were  sixteen  or  eighteen  men  with  their 
women  and  children  in  the  party,  under  a  military  escort. 
All  were  on  horseback,  the  women  and  children  riding 
on  pillions.  Two  of  the  women  hugged  infants  to  their 
breasts.  The  company  were  jogging  along  placidly  through 
the  wintry  woods,  strung  out  in  a  straggling  line,  when 
suddenly  the  rear  was  surprised  by   an  attack   from  a 


150  Connecticut  River 

neighboring  cover  at  the  foot  of  Long  Hill,  where  the  road 
crosses  Pecowsic  Brook.  At  the  first  fire  one  man,  John 
Keep,  and  a  maid  were  killed,  and  two  men  were  wounded. 
The  two  women  with  the  infants,  —  John  Keep's  wife, 
Sarah,  the  other  not  named  in  the  accounts,  —  were 
captured  and  carried  off  into  the  woods.  Leaving  the 
captives  to  their  fate,  the  escort  rushed  the  cavalcade  for- 
ward to  a  point  of  safety  in  Springfield.  Then  the  men 
returned  to  the  scene  of  the  attack  but  no  trace  of  the 
assailants  and  their  captives  could  be  found.  Major  Pyn- 
chon  also  sent  out  a  mounted  party  of  searchers  from 
Springfield  ;  and  the  next  morning  sixteen  men  from  Had- 
ley,  sent  down  by  Major  Savage,  joined  in  the  hunt.  At 
length  the  tracks  were  struck,  and  soon  after  the  party 
were  discovered.  As  the  pursuers  approached,  the  culmi- 
nating scene  of  the  tragedy  was  enacted.  The  Indians 
seized  "  the  two  poor  infants  and  in  the  Sight  of  both  the 
Mothers  and  our  Men,  tossed  them  up  in  the  Air  and 
dashed  their  Brains  out  against  the  Rocks,  and  with  their 
Hatchets  knokt  the  Women,  and  forthwith  fled."  Such 
was  Major  Savage's  report.  The  place  being  rocky  with 
a  swamp  just  by,  the  pursuers  could  not  follow  with  their 
horses,  and  the  savages  made  good  their  escape.  Poor 
Mrs.  Keep  died  from  her  wounds  and  horror  at  the  fate  of 
her  babe.  The  other  woman  lived  and  gave  a  report  of 
what  the  captors  had  told  of  the  enemy's  condition  and 
plans,  which  proved  of  value  to  the  war  councils.  The 
assailants  were  all  Indians  of  the  Agawam  tribe  who  had 
lived  at  Longmeadow  before  the  burning  of  Springfield, 
and  their  victims  were  old  neighbors.  When  it  was  found 
how  small  their  numbers  were,  the  escort  of  the  cavalcade 
came  in  for  sharp  censure  for  running  from  instead  of 
after   them.     The   council  at    Boston   characterized   the 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  151 

captain's  conduct  as  "  a  matter  of  great  shame,  humbling 
to  us."     And  it  inspired  this  couplet : 

"  Seven  Indians,  and  one  without  a  Gun, 
Caused  Captain  Nixon  and  forty  men  to  run." 

Through  April  the  enemy  were  comparatively  inactive 
in  the  Valley,  and  did  their  greatest  mischief  in  ravaging 
eastward  in  the  Bay  Colony,  and  in  Plymouth  Colony. 
Early  in  the  month  Major  Savage  was  recalled  with  the 
larger  part  of  his  force  by  the  Bay  council,  leaving  Cap- 
tain Turner  in  command  at  headquarters  in  Hadley,  with 
small  garrisons  at  Hatfield,  Northampton,  and  Springfield, 
to  guard  the  inhabitants  while  at  their  occupations.  Major 
Treat  and  his  troops  were  drawn  off  to  protect  the  lower 
Connecticut  Colony  towns.  Meanwhile  the  government 
at  Hartford  was  advancing  overtures  for  peace  with  the 
enemy  in  the  Deerfield  and  Squakheag  camps,  which  over- 
tures had  been  begun  at  the  close  of  March. 

While  negotiations  were  pending,  runners  brought  to 
the  Squakheag  camp  from  the  Narragansett  country  the 
crushing  news  of  the  capture  of  Canonchet  and  his  execu- 
tion there.  This  sharply  changed  the  current  of  things. 
Within  a  week  followed  word  of  the  slaughter  of  several 
counsellors  aud  sachems  near  the  place  where  the  chieftain 
had  been  taken,  which  intensified  their  confusion. 

Canonchet,  it  appeared,  had  been  seized  at  the  Paw- 
tucket  River,  Rhode  Island,  on  the  second  of  April,  by  Con- 
necticut troopers  with  a  band  of  Mohegans  led  by  Oneko, 
and  had  been  executed  the  next  day  by  an  Indian's  hand. 
He  had  succeeded  in  his  mission,  and,  despatching  his  es- 
cort on  the  return  journey  with  the  coveted  planting  seed, 
had  tarried  behind  to  follow  later  with  the  fighting  men  of 
the  tribe  who  were  now  in  that  region.    The  attacking  party 


152  Connecticut  River 

surprised  him  in  camp  with  only  six  or  seven  sachems  on 
the  bank  of  the  Pawtucket.  He  fled  from  the  overwhelm- 
ing numbers,  and  casting  aside  his  blanket  and  the  silver- 
laced  coat  which  the  Bay  leaders  had  given  him  as  a  pledge 
of  friendship,  sprang  into  the  river.  But  slipping  somehow, 
he  fell,  and  his  gun,  wet  in  the  fall,  became  useless.  So  one 
of  Oneko's  Indians,  who  had  plunged  in  after  him,  effected 
his  capture  with  ease. 

The  dignified  bearing  and  the  splendid  nerve  of  the 
fallen  chief  marked  him  for  the  first  rank  among  the  heroes 
of  his  vanished  race.  The  first  of  the  English  to  approach 
and  question  him  was  a  youth  of  twenty-one,  —  Robert 
Stanton,  son  of  the  interpreter  with  the  troops.  "  But  the 
chieftain  haughtily  repelled  his  advances :  ^  You  too  much 
child :  no  understand  war.  Let  your  chief  come,  him  I  will 
answer.'  He  was  offered  his  life  on  condition  of  his  sub- 
mission; but,  'like  Attilius  Regulus,'  the  offer  was  refused. 
He  was  then  sentenced  to  die.  'I  like  it  well,'  was  the 
reply.  'I  shall  die  before  my  heart  is  soft,  and  before  I 
have  spoken  anything  unworthy  of  myself.' "  His  only 
request  was  that  he  might  be  saved  the  indignities  of  tor- 
ture, and  his  executioner  might  be  Oneko,  whom  he  acknowl- 
edged as  a  fellow  prince.  He  was  taken  to  Stonington  and 
there  beheaded  by  the  son  of  Uncas,  who  had  been  the  exe- 
cutioner of  his  father  —  Miantonomo  —  thirty-three  years 
before.     His  head  was  sent  to  Hartford. 

With  the  news  of  Canonchet's  fall  the  Pocumtucks  were 
ready  to  throw  up  their  hands  and  "to  seek  peace  with  the 
head  of  Philip."  Thereupon  the  cautious  Philip  moved  with 
his  followers  across  country  eastward  to  the  fastnesses  of 
Mount  Wachusett,  in  Princeton,  and  established  a  new  ren- 
dezvous there.  Passacus,  the  dead  Canonchet's  successor 
as  chief  of  the  Narragansetts  (he  was  a  brother  of  Mianto- 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  153 

nomo,  and  had  been  regent  for  twenty  years  during  the 
minority  of  Canonchet)  took  charge  of  the  disorganized 
masses  remaining  in  the  River  camps.  Toward  the  close 
of  April  their  scouting  parties  were  again  skulking  about 
the  towns  and  taking  off  horses  and  cattle.  As  the  spring 
advanced,  with  the  opening  of  the  fishing  season,  food 
became  more  plentiful,  and  confidence  was  restored  among 
the  "hostiles."  Camps  were  now  scattered  along  the  River 
at  the  various  fishing  points  as  far  north  as  the  confluence 
of  the  Ashuelot,  in  Hinsdale. 

The  principal  fishing  place  was  at  the  head  of  the  rapids 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  River,  known  then  as  the  Great 
Falls,  now  Turner's  Falls.  Another  important  one  guarded 
the  ford  of  the  Deerfield  below.  While  throngs  were  fish- 
ing and  drying  fish  to  store  in  the  "barns,"  others  were 
planting.  On  the  twelvth  of  May  (0.  S.),  Passacus,  learn- 
ing from  his  scouts  that  large  herds  of  stock  had  been  turned 
into  the  Hatfield  meadows  to  feed,  sent  out  a  raiding  band, 
and  that  night  some  seventy  or  eighty  head  of  this  cattle 
were  run  off,  to  the  great  loss  and  indignation  of  the  people. 

A  week  later  came  the  "Great  Falls  Fight,"  with  an 
English  victory  followed  by  a  disastrous  rout. 

From  Thomas  Reed  of  Hatfield  and  two  Springfield  lads, 
by  name  Edward  Stebbins  and  John  Gilbert,  who  had  been 
captives  of  the  Indians  and  had  escaped,  it  was  learned  that 
the  enemy  "were  carrying  themselves  unguardedly,"  on 
accoimt  of  their  knowledge  of  the  withdrawal  of  troops 
from  the  frontier  towns.  Thereupon  the  people  of  these 
towns,  glad  to  avenge  themselves  for  the  taking  of  the  Hat- 
field cattle,  "and  other  preceding  mischiefs,"  at  once  raised 
a  volunteer  force  to  join  with  the  garrison  troops  in  an 
assault  upon  the  Great  Falls  camp.     Thus  were  assembled 


154  Connecticut  River 

a  little  company  of  one  hundred  and  forty-one,  composed 
of  the  garrison  men  and  volunteers  from  Hadley,  Hatfield, 
Northampton,  Springfield,  and  Westfield,  under  Captain 
Turner,  the  commander  at  Hadley.  The  Rev.  Hope  Ather- 
ton  of  Hatfield  joined  as  chaplain. 

On  the  18th  all  were  marshalled  on  Hatfield  Street, 
well  mounted,  and  at  sunset  were  ready  for  the  start. 
After  a  prayer  by  the  chaplain  the  cavalcade  moved  off. 
Guided  by  Benjamin  Waite  and  Experience  Hinsdell,  they 
made  their  way  cautiously  up  the  Pocumtuck  Path ;  past 
the  gruesome  scene  of  the  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook ;  along 
the  edge  of  Deerfield ;  across  Deerfield  River  above  the 
guarded  ford  ;  two  miles  through  the  unbroken  wilderness ; 
across  Green  River  and  along  the  present  Greenfield  main 
street,  on  to  a  plateau  north  of  Mount  Adams  of  the  Green- 
field hills.  Here,  within  about  a  mile  of  their  destination, 
they  halted  to  dismount  and  make  the  remainder  of  the 
distance  on  foot.  Leaving  their  horses  with  a  guard,  they 
resumed  their  march  across  Fall  River,  up  an  abrupt  hill, 
and  out  upon  a  slope,  below  which  lay  the  sleeping  camp 
at  the  head  of  the  Falls. 

It  was  now  a  little  before  daybreak.  The  night  before 
the  Indians  had  held  a  great  feast,  warriors,  women  and 
children,  all  gorging  themselves  with  rich  salmon  from 
the  River,  and  fresh  beef  and  new  milk  from  the  Hatfield 
raid.  During  the  festivities  fishers  were  out  in  canoes 
spearing  salmon  by  torchlight,  till  a  sudden  shower  extin- 
guished their  torches.  The  same  shower  had  covered  the 
frontiermen's  advance.  The  revels  had  been  carried  long 
past  midnight,  and  when  the  satiated  throng  lay  down  to 
sleep,  not  a  sentinel  was  posted,  not  a  scout  was  abroad. 
As  silently  as  they  had  come,  the  attacking  party  approach- 
ing the  camp  at  the  rear,  pressed  up  to  the  wigwams  and 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  155 

thrust  their  guns  directly  into  them.  At  a  given  signal 
all  fired.  Many  of  the  inmates  were  killed  in  their  sleep. 
The  imhurt,  awakened  in  terror,  cried  out  "  Mohawks ! 
Mohawks !  "  imagining  their  old  enemy  upon  them ;  and 
fled  wildly  hither  and  thither.  Numbers  leaped  into  the 
River  and,  carried  over  the  falls,  were  drowned.  Others 
rushed  for  the  canoes  and  were  shot  down  as  they  paddled 
or  floated  away.  Others  attempted  to  hide  about  the 
River's  bank  and  were  ruthlessly  put  to  the  sword.  The 
slaughter  was  indiscriminate,  women  and  children  falling 
with  the  rest.  The  wigwams  were  bm-ned,  and  provisions 
and  ammunition  destroyed.  Two  forges  that  had  been 
used  in  mending  arms  were  demolished,  and  "  two  great 
piggs  of  lead  "  for  making  bullets  were  cast  into  the  River. 
This  was  the  extent  of  the  victory.  To  this  point  it 
was  complete,  with  scarcely  any  loss  to  the  English  and  with 
ruin  to  the  Indians.  But  the  victors  tarried  too  long  on 
the  scene ;  then  scattered  unwisely.  Thus  fresh  Indians 
from  other  camps  —  on  the  opposite  bank  and  at  Smead's 
Island  below  the  Falls  —  were  given  time  to  come  up  and 
gather  about  them.  Drawing  off  in  disorder  they  rushed 
for  their  horses  with  the  new  horde  at  their  heels.  A 
band  of  twenty  chasing  some  loaded  canoes  up  the  River 
were  left  behind  when  the  retreat  began.  They  fought 
their  way  back  to  their  horses  but  were  smrounded  while 
mounting.  One  of  them,  Jonathan  Wells,  a  youth  of 
sixteen  (the  story  of  whose  adventures  and  hairbreadth 
escapes  is  an  oft  told  romance  of  the  wars  in  the  Valley), 
managed  to  break  away,  though  sorely  wounded.  Catch- 
ing up  with  the  main  body  he  m-ged  Captain  Turner  to 
turn  back  to  their  relief.  The  Captain  could  only  reply, 
in  the  desperate  strait  of  his  shattered  command,  "  Better 
save  some  than  lose  all."     Their  two  guides  differed  as  to 


156  Connecticut  River 

the  safest  route  to  take  on  the  retreat.  So  the  command 
broke  up  into  bands,  some  following  Waite,  some  Hins- 
dell,  others  taking  a  third  course.  Those  who  followed 
Hinsdell  were  all  lost  with  him  in  a  swamp.  Throughout 
the  dense  forest  the  fleet-footed  enemy  "  hung  like  a  mov- 
ing cloud  on  flank  and  rear"  of  the  fugitives.  Turner, 
enfeebled  by  sickness,  became  exhausted,  and  was  shot 
down  while  crossing  Green  River.  With  his  death  the 
lead  devolved  upon  Captain  Samuel  Holyoke,  an  intrepid 
young  soldier  of  Springfield.  Displaying  great  courage, 
fighting  with  vigor  when  his  horse  was  shot  under  him,  he 
brought  something  like  order  into  the  demoralized  ranks. 
But  the  enemy  kept  up  the  pursuit  through  the  Deerfield 
meadows  and  along  the  length  of  Deerfield  Old  Street. 

When  finally  Hatfield  was  reached  and  the  force  was 
mustered,  nearly  a  third  were  missing,  and  two  of  those 
present  mortally  wounded.  Six  of  the  missing  straggled 
in  later,  worn  and  disheartened.  The  others  were  dead. 
The  chaplain,  Mr.  Atherton,  was  of  the  latest  to  come  in. 
He  had  been  unhorsed  and  would  have  surrendered  to  the 
Indians ;  but  they  would  not  receive  him,  running  off 
scared  by  his  parson's  garb  whenever  he  approached  them 
to  give  himself  up.  They  thought  he  was  ^'  the  English- 
men's God." 

A  month  after  the  retreat  a  band  of  English  scouts 
ranging  the  woods  discovered  the  body  of  Captain  Turner 
and  gave  it  burial.  A  few  years  ago  what  was  believed 
to  be  Turner's  grave  was  found  on  the  bluff  west  of  where 
he  fell,  and  marked  by  a  tablet.  Earlier  the  Great  Falls 
had  become  Turner's  Falls  in  remembrance  of  him.  The 
scene  of  the  Falls  Fight  is  also  marked  by  a  monument. 

The  destruction  of  the  Great  Falls  camp  bore  heaviest 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  157 

upon  the  Pocuintucks.  Their  power  was  now  broken  be- 
yond recovery.  "  From  this  time  and  place,"  says  Sheldon, 
"  they  pass  into  oblivion." 

The  immediate  result  of  this  fight  was  the  formation  of 
guards  and  scouts  from  the  militia  of  the  towns  systemati- 
cally to  cover  the  frontiers.  The  system  was  established 
none  too  soon,  for  on  the  30  th  of  May  the  enemy  reappeared 
in  force  at  Hatfield,  presumably  to  avenge  the  Great  Falls 
affair. 

Another  hot  fight  here  ensued.  Seven  hundred  warri- 
ors comprised  the  attacking  swarm.  At  first  they  had 
their  own  way,  driving  the  few  townspeople  inside  the 
stockade,  burning  and  pillaging  houses  and  barns  outside 
the  pale,  and  running  off  cattle.  But  soon,  in  the  height 
of  the  looting,  ''  twenty-five  resolute  young  men,"  crossing 
from  Hadley  in  a  single  boat,  and  fighting  off  a  crowd  who 
attempted  to  prevent  their  landing,  charged  upon  the  ma- 
rauders with  signal  effect.  The  gallant  twenty-five  fought 
their  way  up  to  the  front  of  the  fort,  where,  hardest  pressed, 
five  of  them  fell.  The  others  were  saved  by  the  Hatfield 
men  who  sallied  out  to  their  relief.  Then,  after  more  des- 
perate work,  the  Indians  ran.  Meanwhile  a  band  had 
made  an  ambush  on  the  Northampton  road  to  head  off' 
reinforcements  who  might  appear  from  that  direction, 
while  another  guarded  the  Hadley  crossing.  The  latter 
band  prevented  the  crossing  of  a  relief  force  who  had 
come  from  Northampton  by  a  roundabout  way  through 
Hadley.  When  the  enemy  fled  the  town  they  withdrew 
up  the  River  driving  the  whole  Hatfield  stock  of  sheep  be- 
fore them. 

With  one  more  assault  hostilities  in  the  Valley  region 
came  to  an  end.  This  was  the  attack  of  June  12  upon 
Hadley. 


158  Connecticut  River 

The  Bay  Colony  authorities,  after  they  had  succeeded 
in  redeeming  a  number  of  the  English  captives,  among 
them  Mrs.  Rowlandson,  but  had  failed  in  efforts  for  peace, 
since  the  Indian  negotiators  "  did  but  dally,"  at  length 
joined  with  the  Connecticut  government  to  force  Philip 
from  his  stronghold  at  Wachusett,  and  to  drive  the  enemy 
still  remaining  in  the  Valley.  Two  "  armies  "  were  ordered 
to  come  together  at  Brookfield  or  at  the  Hadley  headquar- 
ters. Captain  Samuel  Henchman  with  four  hundred  horse 
and  foot  was  ordered  up  from  the  Bay ;  while  Connecticut 
sent  forward  Major  John  Talcott  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  troopers  and  two  hundred  Mohegans  under  Oneko. 
Talcott  set  out  from  the  military  rendezvous  at  Norwich, 
Connecticut,  on  June  2  ;  and  Henchman  started  from  Con- 
cord, Massachusetts,  three  days  later.  Talcott  reached 
Brookfield  first.  He  arrived  on  the  7th,  "  having  killed  or 
captiu-ed  seventy-three  Indians  on  the  way."  Not  ventur- 
ing alone  to  attack  Wachusett,  he  pushed  on  to  Hadley, 
which  he  reached  next  day.  Establishing  himself  at 
Northampton,  he  sent  down  to  Hartford  for  ammunition 
and  supplies.  These  arrived  on  the  10th,  convoyed  by 
Captain  George  Dennison  (he  who  had  been  one  of  the  cap- 
tains at  the  capture  of  Canonchet)  and  his  company. 
There  were  now  at  or  about  headquarters  in  Hadley  five 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  Captain  Jeremiah  Swain,  who  had 
succeeded  Captain  Turner,  was  in  command  of  the  Hadley 
garrison.  Captain  Henchman  was  daily  expected,  when 
the  combined  forces  would  number  upward  of  a  thousand. 
Upon  his  arrival  they  were  immediately  to  push  up  to 
Deerfield,  where  Major  Talcott  had  been  told  were  collected 
five  hundred  warriors.  The  main  body  of  "  hostiles," 
however,  were  apparently  farther  up  the  River  at  a  place 
provided  by  Passacus  after  the  Great  Falls  fight.     It  is 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  159 

presumed  that  they  were  aware  of  Henchman's  march  from 
the  east,  but  ignorant  of  the  movements  of  Talcott  and 
Dennison,  and  that  the  assault  upon  Hadley  was  to  fore- 
stall Henchman's  arrival  here. 

For  this  assault  seven  hundred  warriors  swooped  down 
from  Passacus's  new  headquarters,  and  were  before  the  town 
on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  Strong  bands  were  ambus- 
caded at  the  north  and  south  ends  of  the  town,  and  awaited 
the  movements  of  the  townspeople.  Two  men  who  had 
left  the  stockade  contrary  to  orders  fell  among  the  am- 
bushed band  at  the  south  end  and  were  killed.  Thus  this 
band  were  discovered  to  the  garrison,  and  Captain  Swain 
instantly  sent  a  force  out  after  them.  While  they  were 
engaged  with  the  garrison  soldiers,  the  band  at  the  north 
end  sprang  from  their  ambush.  Rushing  toward  the  stock- 
ade they  found  it  lined  with  soldiers  and  Mohegans,  and 
amazed,  fell  back  in  disorder.  On  the  retreat  some  of 
them  tarried  to  plunder  a  house,  when  it  was  struck  by  a 
missile  from  a  small  cannon.  This  was  a  weapon  strange 
and  awful  to  them,  and  they  came  "  tumbling  out  in  great 
terror."  All  were  now  on  the  run.  The  soldiers  chased 
them  for  two  miles  northward.  Disheartened  by  the  repulse 
and  the  discovery  of  troops  returned  to  the  Valley  with 
Indian  allies,  the  fugitives  reached  their  headquarters  to 
find  that  in  their  absence  their  camp  had  been  sacked  by 
Mohawks  and  fifty  of  their  women  and  children  left  dead 
in  the  ruins.  This  was  the  final  blow,  and  they  scattered 
aimlessly  in  the  wilderness. 

Henchman  arriving  two  days  after  the  Hadley  assault, 
on  the  16th  the  forces  moved  up  the  Valley  to  scour  both 
sides  of  the  River.  Talcott' s  division  took  the  west  side ; 
Henchman's  the  east  side.  As  they  marched  no  Indians 
were  seen.     Deerfield  was  deserted  of  the  five  hundred  said 


160  Connecticut  River 

to  have  been  there.  At  night  both  divisions  met  at  the 
Great  Falls,  drenched  by  a  cold  northeaster.  The  storm 
continued  through  the  next  day  and  night,  spoiling  much 
of  their  provisions  and  ammunition.  Then  they  returned 
to  Hadley,  leaving  scouts  farther  to  range  the  woods. 

Now  the  "hostiles  "  were  reported  to  be  all  in  a  continual 
motion,  shifting  gradually,  some  working  toward  Wachu- 
sett,  others  towards  Narragansett,  while  Philip  and  his  fol- 
lowers had  left  Wachusett  for  their  old  country,  bent  on 
whatever  mischief  they  could  do  along  the  way.  So  the 
armies  marched  off,  Henchman  to  the  eastward,  and  Talcott 
to  Hartford,  leaving  Captain  Swain  again  in  command  in 
the  Valley  with  the  garrison  men.  Shortly  after  scouts 
from  the  Hadley  garrison  went  up  to  Avhat  it  now  Green- 
field and  destroyed  a  deserted  Indian  fort  on  Smead's 
Island,  with  a  stock  of  provisions  in  the  "  barns,"  thirty 
canoes,  and  a  hundred  wigwams.  A  month  and  a  half 
later  Swain  received  orders  to  collect  the  soldiers  from  all 
the  garrisons  "  and  march  to  Deerfield,  Squakheag,  and  the 
places  thereabouts,  and  destroy  all  the  growing  corn,  and 
then  march  homeward."  The  carrying  out  of  these  orders 
on  August  22  was  the  final  act  in  Philip's  War  in  the 
Valley. 

The  finishing  strokes,  with  the  passing  of  Philip,  were 
given  in  the  Narragansett  country  where  the  war  had  begun. 
While  the  scouting  parties  were  at  their  work  along  the 
River,  Major  Talcott  with  Connecticut  troops,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Bay  and  Plymouth  forces,  was  in  that  region 
driving  the  enemy.  By  July,  Philip  and  the  remnant  of 
his  Wampanoags  had  reached  his  old  lair  at  Mount  Hope, 
deserted  by  all  of  his  allies.  The  Narragansetts  were  scat- 
tered.    The  Nipmucks  were  drifting  toward  Maine  and 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  161 

Canada.  The  broken  Pocumtucks  were  mostly  working 
westward  to  find  refuge  with  the  Mohicans.  A  small  band 
of  refugees  fled  to  the  Hudson.  By  Governor  Andros's  order 
they  were  secured,  but  their  surrender  at  the  demand  of 
Connecticut  refused.  Lest  others  following  might  return 
with  recruits,  scouts  ranged  the  woods  about  the  lower  Val- 
ley towns,  while  guards  protected  the  people  at  their  work 
in  the  fields.  Late  in  July  a  body  of  several  hundred  re- 
fugees passed  near  Westfield  going  westward.  The  garrison 
soldiers  gave  chase,  but  they  kept  their  way,  taking  "a 
southwest  course  as  if  to  cross  the  Hudson  at  Esopus,  to 
avoid  the  Mohawks."  Three  weeks  later  another  band  of 
two  hundred  crossed  the  Connecticut  at  Chicopee  on  a  raft 
and  disappeared  beyond  Westfield.  They  were  overtaken 
at  the  Housatonic,  and  a  number  killed  or  captured.  The 
rest  got  away  also  to  the  westward.  These  bodies  of  re- 
fugees were  finally  absorbed  in  the  Mohicans. 

On  the  day  that  the  orders  went  out  to  Captain  Swaine 
at  Hadley  to  destroy  the  corn  (August  12),  Philip,  at  last 
driven  to  bay  by  the  great  Indian  fighter.  Captain  Benjamin 
Chiu-ch,  —  his  ablest  braves  slain,  deserted,  betrayed,  bereft 
by  the  capture  of  his  wife  and  only  son,  crying  in  his  grief, 
"My  heart  breaks,  now  I  am  ready  to  die,"  — fell,  and  his 
head  was  carried  in  triumph  to  Plymouth  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  a  public  thanksgiving,  there  long  to  be  exposed 
on  the  battlement  of  Plymouth  fort.  His  boy,  the  last  of 
the  Massasoit  race,  was  sold  as  a  slave  in  Bermuda. 

The  proud  Wampanoags  and  the  prouder  Narragansetts 
had  now  suffered  the  fate  of  the  Pequots.  The  Nipmucks 
also  were  broken  up  and  had  migrated  north  and  west  with 
the  few  surviving  Narragansett  warriors  who  had  escaped 
capture.  The  treatment  of  the  captured  to  the  last  was 
relentless.     "  Death  or  slavery  was  the  penalty  for  all 


162  Connecticut  River 

known  or  suspected  to  have  been  concerned  in  the  shedding 
of  English  blood."  Many  chiefs  were  executed  at  Boston 
and  Plymouth  on  the  charge  of  rebellion.  Many  captives 
not  killed  were  distributed  among  the  colonists  as  "  ten- 
year  servants." 

The  sum  of  the  war's  results  to  the  colonists  was  grave. 
Of  the  able-bodied  men  in  the  colonies  affected,  one  in  twenty 
had  been  killed  or  died  of  wounds,  and  the  same  proportion 
of  families  had  been  burnt  out  of  their  homes.  At  least 
thirteen  towns  had  been  wholly  destroyed ;  others  had  been 
sorely  damaged.  More  than  six  hundred  houses,  near  a 
tenth  part  of  New  England,  had  been  burned.  "There  was 
scarcely  a  family  in  which  some  one  had  not  suffered." 
Six  hundred  men,  most  of  them  in  the  prime  of  life,  and 
twelve  tried  captains,  had  fallen  on  the  battle-field;  more, 
surviving  the  conflict,  bore  scars  of  their  desperate  encoun- 
ters. The  cost  of  the  war,  in  expenses  and  losses,  reached 
a  total  of  haK  a  million  dollars,  truly  "  an  enormous  sum 
for  the  few  of  that  day." 

The  group  of  Valley  towns  that  had  suffered  the  greatest 
hardships  slowly  recovered  from  the  ravages  of  this  war. 
With  the  advent  of  spring  immediately  following  the  close 
of  hostilities  an  attempt  to  resettle  Deerfield  was  made. 
This  ended  tragically.  Later  settlers  effected  a  permanent 
lodgment,  and  it  again  became  the  frontier  town,  so  to  re- 
main for  a  third  of  a  century,  except  the  interval  of  five 
years  during  which  Northfield  was  occupied. 

But  Indian  affairs  continued  unsettled.  The  hostile 
Valley  clans,  though  expelled  and  scattered,  were  not  sub- 
dued, and  roving  bands  coming  down  from  the  north  re- 
peatedly harassed  the  upper  towns  till  the  French  and  Indian 
wars  broke  upon  the  Valley. 


Rising  of  the  Narragansetts  163 

Still  life  at  this  period  was  not  all  sombre  in  the  River 
towns.  There  were  various  mild  diversions,  chief  among 
them  the  lecture  days  and  training  days.  Not  a  little 
cheeriness  was  mixed  with  the  perils  of  the  River  folk. 
Recalling  their  manners  and  their  ways  of  living  as  the 
seventeeth  century  was  closing,  Roger  Wolcott  remarked 
the  "  simplicity  and  honesty  of  the  generality."  Their 
blemishes  he  observed  to  be  too  much  censoriousness  and 
detraction.  "  And  as  they  had  much  cyder  many  of  them 
drank  too  much  of  it." 


XIII 

The  Sack  of  Deerfield. 

The  Settlement,  again  the  Outpost,  repeatedly  raided  in  the  early  French  and 
Indian  Wars  —  The  first  Captives  marched  to  Canada  from  Deerfield  and 
Hatfield  —  Knightly  Quest  of  two  Hatfield  Men  —  Bootless  raid  of  Baron 
de  Saint-Castin  —  Motive  of  de  Vaudreuil's  Expedition  resulting  in  the 
Sack  —  Deerfield  as  it  appeared  before  the  Onset — Completeness  of  the  Sur- 
prise by  De  Rouville's  Army  —  The  Palisades  scaled  over  Snowdrifts  — 
Scene  at  the  Parsonage  —  Siege  of  the  Benoni  Stebbins  House  —  Start  of 
one  hundred  and  twelve  Captives  for  Canada. 

DEERFIELD,  as  the  outpost  in  the  Valley  from  the 
time  of  its  reoccupation  by  permanent  settlers  in 
1682,  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  Indian  raids  upon  the 
River  towns  during  King  William's  War  of  1690-1698, 
and  in  Queen  Anne's  War  of  1702-1713,  till  the  second 
year  of  the  latter  war,  when  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil, 
French  governor  of  Canada,  sent  out  a  midwinter  expedi- 
tion directly  for  the  destruction  of  this  "frontier  of  the 
Boston  government."  It  was  the  aw^ul  work  of  that  ex- 
pedition, in  the  burning  of  the  town,  the  massacre  or  cap- 
ture of  nearly  all  its  inhabitants,  and  the  marching  of  one 
hundred  and  twelve  captives,  the  minister  with  his  flock, 
three  hundred  miles  over  the  ice  and  snow  to  Canada,  which 
has  become  familiar  in  history  and  legend  as  "The  Sack 
of  Deerfield." 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  earlier  some  Deerfield 
settlers  had  formed  a  part  of  the  first  of  all  bands  of  cap- 
tive whites  to  be  taken  on  this  cruel  journey  through  the 
wilderness,  along  which  so  many  in  subsequent  parties  fell 

164 


Door  of  the  "  Ensign  Sheldon  House,"  with  its  "  Hatchet- 
Hewn    Face." 
Relic  of  the  sack  of  Deerfield,   February,    1703/4. 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  165 

by  the  way,  less  through  exhaustion  and  exposure  than 
from  the  Indians'  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife. 

The  story  of  the  captives'  march  that  followed  the  Sack 
of  1703-4  is  but  a  repetition,  on  a  larger  scale  and  with 
more  tragic  detail,  of  the  story  of  the  first  one  of  1677. 

The  party  of  1677  comprised  twenty-eight  men,  women, 
and  children.  They  were  Hatfield  and  Deerfield  folk, 
captured  by  a  band  of  refugee  Pocumtucks  and  a  single  Nar- 
ragansett,  who  had  come  down  from  Canada  under  a  Cana- 
dian chief,  in  September  of  that  year,  —  the  year  after  the 
close  of  Philip's  War.  The  Deerfield  portion  were  survi- 
vors of  a  group  of  a  half-dozen  settlers,  led  by  Quintin 
Stockwell,  of  "  Stockwell  Fort,"  destroyed  in  Philip's 
"War,  who  had  ventured  the  resettlement  of  the  town  in 
the  preceding  spring.  The  raiders,  unaware  of  the  ven- 
ture at  Deerfield,  had  first  fallen  upon  Hatfield,  supposing 
it  to  be  the  outmost  settlement.  The  truth  was  discovered 
to  them  by  the  Deerfield  camp-fire  at  twilight,  after  they 
had  pillaged  Hatfield  and  were  starting  up  river  on  their 
return  march,  with  their  captives  and  plunder.  Creeping 
down  from  the  woods  on  East  Mountain,  they  completely 
surprised  the  camp  as  supper  was  preparing.  Though 
valiantly  resisting  the  sudden  assault,  the  little  group  of 
settlers  were  crashed  by  the  superior  numbers  that  sur- 
rounded them.  Four  of  the  six,  with  a  Hatfield  boy  who 
happened  with  them,  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands  and  were 
joined  to  the  other  captives  on  East  Mountain.  The  Hat- 
field captives  were  composed  of  broken  families,  mostly  the 
women  and  children.  Of  the  full  company  of  twenty-eight 
beginning  the  northern  march,  three  or  four  fell  by  the 
way.  John  Root  of  the  Deerfield  group  and  the  Hatfield 
boy,  Sammy  Russell,  — who  had  lost  his  mother  and 
younger  brother  in  the  slaughter  at  Hatfield,  —  were  early 


166  Connecticut  River 

killed  by  their  captors;  and  later  a  little  Hatfield  girl, 
Mary  Foote.  was  killed,  probably,  like  the  boy,  for  stragg- 
ling. Benoni  Stebbins,  of  the  Deerfield  group,  managed 
to  escape  early  in  the  journey,  and  got  back  to  Hadley 
with  the  first  authentic  news  of  the  destination  of  the  cap- 
tives. Quintin  Stockwell  weathered  the  journey  with 
much  distress  from  wounds  which  he  had  received  in  the 
fight  at  Deerfield,  and  was  subsequently  ransomed.  "  Old 
Sergeant  Plympton,"  —  not  so  very  old,  being  under  sixty, 
—  another  of  the  Deerfield  group,  who  had  served  with 
Captain  Moseley  in  Philip's  War,  was  burned  at  the  stake 
after  the  arrival  in  Canada.  A  woman  captive  was  forced 
to  lead  him  to  the  fire,  we  read,  though  the  stout-hearted 
fellow  approached  it  not  only  unflinchingly  but  "with 
cheerfulness."  Three  wintry  months  were  consumed  on 
this  first  march,  on  which  long  halts  were  made  at  Indian 
camps  far  up  the  River ;  and  at  its  end  the  captives  were 
scattered  in  French  and  Indian  villages. 

A  rescue  party  composed  of  soldiers  and  volunteers 
from  Hatfield  and  the  towns  next  below  had  hurried  out 
in  pursuit  of  the  raiders,  but  after  a  bewildering  chase  for 
nearly  forty  miles  up  the  Valley  without  result  they  re- 
turned disheartened.  The  wily  foe  had  doubled  on  their 
tracks,  and  crossed  and  recrossed  the  River,  so  confusing 
all  traces.  Then  followed  a  knightly  quest  by  two  Hatfield 
men,  Benjamin  Waite  and  Stephen  Jennings,  whose  entire 
families  were  among  the  captives.  Armed  with  papers 
from  the  Bay  council  authorizing  their  expedition,  and  with 
letters  from  the  Bay  governor  to  the  French  governor  and 
to  a  great  Indian  sachem,  making  overtm-es  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  captives,  the  two  men  started  off  on  their  lonely 
pilgrimage  in  the  desolate  season  of  December.  After  ex- 
traordinary exertions  and  grave  perils,  these  adventurous 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  167 

men  met  with  the  fullest  success.  Their  families  were 
restored  to  them,  and  finally,  through  the  help  of  Frontenac 
at  Quebec,  the  ransom  of  the  whole  party  was  effected. 
The  reader  of  the  narrative  which  Hubbard  gives  of  this 
quest  will  be  disposed  to  agree  with  him  that  it  would 
have  afforded  "•  Matter  for  a  large  Fiction  to  some  of  the 
ancient  Poets."  It  was,  as  he  says,  unparalleled  by  "  any 
attempt  of  that  nature  since  the  English  came  into  these 
parts."  Other  similar  and  heroic  pilgrimages  followed  in 
after  years,  the  record  of  which  ennobles  the  annals  of 
New  England  colonial  wars. 

For  most  of  the  time  between  the  break-up  of  Quintin 
Stockwell's  camp  and  the  return  of  permanent  settlers  the 
fruitful  plantation  of  Deerfield  lay  "  a  wilderness,  a  dwell- 
ing for  owls  and  a  pasture  for  flocks."  The  reoccupation 
in  the  spring  of  1682  was  effected  by  a  handful  of  former 
settlers  who  had  been  scattered  in  the  towns  below.  They 
were  enabled  to  set  up  their  few  houses  and  rehabilitate 
the  old  fort  unmolested  till  the  opening  of  King  William's 
War.  Of  that  war  the  most  threatening  event  in  the 
Valley  was  an  assault  by  an  expedition  of  French  and 
Indians  from  Canada,  sent  out  against  Deerfield  in  the 
autumn  of  1694,  under  the  Baron  de  Saint-Castin.  He 
was  that  fiery  yoimg  Frenchman,  Jean  Vincent,  who,  com- 
ing out  in  the  first  regiment  of  regular  troops  sent  over 
by  the  French  government  to  Canada,  afterward  settled 
among  the  Indians  of  the  Abenakis  at  Pentagoet,  now 
Castine,  on  Penobscot  Bay,  and  allied  himself  with  their 
chief,  Madockawando,  whose  daughters  he  took  for  wives, 
and  became  to  the  clan  as  their  tutelar  deity.  Castin  had 
accomplished  the  long  march  from  the  north  undiscovered, 
skilfully  eluding  the  English  scouts  then  ranging  the  woods, 


168  Connecticut  River 

and  had  led  his  force  down  from  East  Mountain,  intending 
to  attack  Deerfield  at  the  north  gate  and  take  it  by  sur- 
prise, when  a  boy  in  the  meadows  chanced  upon  the  creep- 
ing foe.  The  boy  was  shot  before  he  could  give  the  alarm, 
but  the  report  of  the  gun  gave  it  in  his  stead.  At  the 
signal  the  townsfolk  hastened  within  the  stockade,  and 
the  men  took  position  for  defence,  drilled  as  they  had  been 
for  just  such  a  sudden  attack.  The  school-dame  and  her 
flock  of  children  were  the  last  to  get  under  cover.  As 
they  were  rushing  to  the  gate  they  were  chased  and  fired 
upon ;  and  they  had  barely  reached  it,  with  bullets  whistr 
ling  about  their  ears,  when  the  general  assault  began.  It 
was  of  short  duration,  for  the  stockade  was  successfully 
defended  and  the  enemy  were  discomfited.  Then  they 
were  "  driven  ignominiously  back  to  the  wilderness." 

The  Deerfield  upon  which  Vaudreuil's  expedition  of 
February,  170.S-4  fell  had  grown  to  embrace  forty-one 
houses  and  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  inhabitants.  It 
was  built  as  now  along  the  length  of  the  plateau  of  the 
Town  Street.  Fifteen  of  the  forty-one  houses  were  within 
the  line  of  the  stockade,  twelve  north  and  fourteen  south 
of  it.  Meetinghouse  HiU  is  now  marked  by  the  monu- 
ment which  commemorates  the  settlers  and  the  men  of  the 
Civil  War,  and  stands  in  the  Common  midway  on  Deer- 
field Old  Street,  within  the  lines  of  the  old  fort.  The 
minister's  little  house,  forty-two  by  twenty  feet,  with  a 
lean-to,  and  his  bam,  both  of  which  the  town  had  built  for 
him,  stood  back  on  the  Common,  where  is  now  the  academy. 
Benoni  Stebbins'  and  Ensign  John  Sheldon's  houses,  im- 
portant features  in  the  Sack  of  the  town,  stood  nearby  to 
the  northward.  An  inscribed  tablet  on  the  Common,  beneath 
old  elms,  marks  the  site  of  the  former;  and  a  few  rods 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  169 

above  a  similar  tablet  marks  that  of  the  latter.  The 
Sheldon  house  at  the  time  of  the  Sack  was  the  largest  in 
the  place.  These  three  houses  were  a  group  by  themselves 
twelve  or  fifteen  rods  from  the  houses  on  the  east  and 
south. 

Grave  apprehensions  of  trouble,  based  on  reports  of  the 
enemy's  movements,  had  been  felt  some  time  before  it 
came,  and  the  townsfolk  had  all  been  living  inside  the  fort. 
In  the  previous  May  the  council  at  Boston  had  provided  a 
guard  for  the  town,  and  the  soldiers  composing  it  were 
quartered  among  the  inhabitants.  Two  were  latterly  as- 
signed to  the  minister's  house,  one  of  these  being  John 
Stoddard,  son  of  the  Northampton  minister,  who  afterward, 
as  Colonel  John  Stoddard,  became  the  chief  military  man 
in  the  Valley.  In  October,  the  minister,  John  Williams, 
sent  to  Governor  Dudley  at  Boston  a  particular  account  of 
the  distress  of  the  town  under  the  dangers  to  which  it  was 
exposed.  The  townspeople,  he  wrote,  had  been  "driven 
from  their  houses  and  home  lots  into  the  fort,"  where 
were  then  but  ten  house-lots.  Similarly  wrote  Solomon 
Stoddard,  the  Northampton  minister.  "  Their  houses  are 
so  crowded,  sometimes  with  soldiers,  that  men  and  women 
can  do  little  business  within  doors,  and  their  spirits  are  so 
taken  up  with  their  dangers  that  they  have  little  heart  to 
undertake  what  is  needful  for  advancing  their  estates.  .  .  . 
"Sometimes  they  are  alarmed  and  called  off  from  their  busi- 
ness, sometimes  they  dare  not  go  into  their  fields ;  and 
when  they  do  go,  they  are  fain  to  wait  till  they  have  a 
guard."  Almost  the  only  communication  between  the 
houses,  according  to  another  account,  was  by  passages 
underground  from  cellar  to  cellar. 

Such  was  the  little  village  within  the  rude  walls  of  the 
picketed  fort  on  the  night  before  the  attack,  on  the  last  of 


170  Connecticut  River 

February.  When  that  night  closed  down  Sheldon  counts 
two  himdred  and  ninety-one  souls  here.  Of  these,  he  finds, 
twenty  were  garrison  soldiers ;  two  were  visitors  from 
Hatfield ;  three.  Frenchmen  from  Canada ;  one,  a  friendly 
Indian ;  and  three,  negro  slaves.  The  rest  were  the  towns- 
people, of  all  ages,  "from  Widow  Allison  of  eigthy-four 
years,  to  John,  the  youngling  of  Deacon  Trench's  flock,  of 
four  weeks."  In  the  minister's  house  with  him  were  his 
family,  —  his  wife  Eunice,  a  daughter  of  Eleazer  Mather, 
the  earlier  Northampton  minister,  and  seven  of  their  eight 
living  children,  with  two  negro  slaves,  a  maid  and  a  man, 

—  and  the  two  soldiers  as  guard.  In  the  Stebbins  house 
were  three  families  and  a  guard.     In  the  Sheldon  house, 

—  the  ensign's  family,  and  his  newly  married  son  with 
his  bride,  bom  Hannah  Chapin  of  Springfield,  whose  wed- 
ding journey  had  been  a  winter's  trip  from  Springfield  to 
this  house  on  horseback,  the  bride  riding  a  pillion  behind 
the  groom.  Outside,  the  snow  lay  heavily  on  the  meadows, 
and  piled  in  drifts  against  the  stockade. 

Vaudreuil's  expedition  was  undertaken  ostensibly  in 
aid  of  the  Abenakis  of  Maine,  in  response  to  an  appeal 
from  some  of  these  Indians  for  help  to  revenge  upon  the 
English  a  real  or  fancied  wrong  suffered  at  their  hands ; 
but  more  particularly  in  the  hope  of  embroiling  the  Eng- 
lish with  the  Abenakis  and  breaking  their  treaty  of  peace. 
As  de  Yaudreuil  reported  after  the  Sack,  "  Sieur  de  Rou- 
ville's  party,  My  Lord,  has  accomplished  everything  that 
was  expected  of  it ;  for  independent  of  the  capture  of  the 
fort,  it  showed  the  Abenakis  that  they  could  truly  rely  on 
our  promises;  and  this  is  what  they  told  me  at  Mon- 
treal on  the  13th  of  June  when  they  came  to  thank  me." 
A  side  motive  which  Sheldon  discloses  in  his  ingenious 
brochure,  Neio  Tracks  in  an  old   Trail,  was  the  French 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  171 

governor's  desire  to  secure  the  person  of  Parson  Williams 
to  hold  for  the  exchange  of  Captain  Baptiste,  the  French 
prisoner  in  Boston,  to  whom  the  minister  makes  a  passing 
allusion  in  his  Redeemed  CajJtive,  as  Captain  Battis,  who 
was  a  more  important  personage,  at  least  to  de  Vaudreuil, 
than  appears  in  the  histories. 

The  expedition  was  carefully  planned  and  abundantly 
equipped  for  the  journey  down  and  back  to  Canada.  It 
was  composed  of  two  hundred  French  soldiers,  and  one 
hundred  and  forty  Indians,  part  French  Mohawks,  or 
"  Macquas,"  probably,  Sheldon  says,  in  civilized  dress,  and 
part  Abenakis,  in  native  costume.  Hertel  de  Rouville,  the 
commander,  was  an  officer  of  the  line,  leader  six  years 
before  of  the  attack  upon  Salmon  Falls  Village,  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  afterward,  in  1708,  leading  in  the  pitiless 
massacre  at  Haverhill,  Massachusetts.  Second  in  com- 
mand was  his  brother,  Lieutenant  de  Rouville.  The  soldiers 
were  provided  with  snowshoes,  and  came  down  the  Valley 
with  little  difficulty  over  the  crusted  snow  and  the  frozen 
River.  An  extra  supply  of  snowshoes  and  moccasins  was 
brought  for  the  use  of  the  captives  they  expected  to  take. 
Provisions  were  conveyed  on  sleds,  some  drawn  by  dogs, 
as  far  as  the  mouth  of  West  River,  at  the  present  Brattle- 
borough.  Here  the  sleds  and  dogs  were  left  with  a  small 
guard,  and  the  rest  of  the  way  was  made  with  scant  supply 
of  food  in  the  packs  which  each  man  carried.  Before  the 
end  of  the  march  the  band  were  obliged  to  subsist  on  such 
game  as  the  Indian  hunters  could  kill.  As  the  town  was 
approached  the  French  soldiers  were  half  starved  and  on 
the  brink  of  mutiny. 

The  party  were  made  ready  for  the  assault  under  cover 
of  night  on  the  bluff  overlooking  North  Meadows,  a  mile 
and  a  half  northwest  of  the  fort.    Crossing  Deerfield  River 


172  Connecticut  River 

on  the  ice  near  Red  Rocks,  a  halt  was  again  made  till  spies 
had  gone  forward  and  learned  how  affairs  stood  in  the  vil- 
lage. All  about  the  fort  was  found  in  deep  quiet ;  even  the 
watchman  was  asleep.  Tradition  tells  that  the  wearied 
sentinel,  while  on  his  beat  in  the  depth  of  the  night,  had 
heard  from  one  of  the  houses  "  the  soft  voice  of  a  woman 
singing  a  lullaby  to  a  sick  child,"  and  leaning  against  the 
window  of  the  room  where  the  child  lay  to  listen  to  the 
song  had  himself  dropped  asleep  under  "  the  soothing  tones 
of  the  singer."  Moving  cautiously  across  North  Meadows 
and  down  to  the  village,  the  invaders  stole  upon  their  prey. 
It  was  now  two  hours  before  daybreak.  Easily  scaling 
the  palisades  over  the  snowdrifts  against  them,  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  stockade,  De  Rouville's  men  were 
inside  and  scattered  among  the  houses  before  a  soul  was 
aware  of  their  presence.  The  surprise  was  complete.  The 
roused  sentinel  discharged  his  gun  and  gave  the  cry  of 
''  Arms ! "  before  he  was  overcome,  but  the  alarm  was 
drowned  in  the  din  that  instantly  arose.  The  signal  for 
general  attack  was  an  assault  by  twenty  of  the  Indians 
upon  the  minister's  house,  the  French  soldiers  meanwhile 
"  standing  to  their  arms  and  killing  all  they  could  that 
made  any  resistance." 

What  befel  the  minister's  household,  and  how  pluckily 
if  not  recklessly  the  parson  displayed  his  mettle,  his  own 
narrative  best  portrays : 

They  came  to  my  house  in  the  beginning  of  the  onset,  and  by 
their  violent  endeavors  to  break  open  doors  and  windows  with  axes 
and  hatchets,  awakened  me  out  of  sleep ;  on  which  I  leaped  out  of 
bed,  and,  running  towards  the  door,  perceived  the  enemy  making 
their  entrance  into  the  house.  I  called  to  awaken  two  soldiers  in 
the  chamber,  and  returning  toward  my  bedside  for  my  arms,  the 
enemy  immediately  broke  into  the  room  ....  with  painted  faces  and 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  173 

hideous  acclamations.  I  reached  up  my  hands  to  the  bedtester  for 
my  pistol,  uttering  a  short  petition  to  CTod  for  everlasting  mercies 
for  me  and  mine  on  account  of  the  merits  of  our  glorified  Redeemer, 
expecting  a  present  passage  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  .  .  .  Taking  down  my  pistol,  I  cocked  it,  and  put  it  to  the 
breast  of  the  first  Indian  that  came  up.  But  my  pistol  missing  fire, 
I  was  seized  by  three  Indians,  who  disarmed  me,  and  bound  me 
naked,  as  I  was  in  my  shirt,  and  so  I  stood  for  near  the  space  of  an 
hour.  Binding  me,  they  told  me  they  would  carry  me  to  Quebec. 
My  pistol  missing  fire  was  an  occasion  of  my  life's  being  preserved ; 
since  which  I  have  also  found  it  profitable  to  be  crossed  in  my  own 
will.  ...  I  cannot  relate  the  distressing  care  I  had  for  my  dear 
wife,  who  had  lain  in  but  a  few  weeks  before ;  and  for  my  poor 
children,  and  Christain  neighbors.  .  .  . 

The  enemy  fell  to  rifling  the  house,  and  entered  in  great  num- 
bers into  every  room.  I  begged  of  God  to  remember  mercy  in  the 
midst  of  judgment ;  that  he  would  so  far  restrain  their  wrath  as  to 
prevent  their  murdering  of  us ;  that  we  might  have  grace  to  glorify 
his  name  whether  in  life  or  death ;  and,  as  I  was  able,  committed 
our  state  to  God.  The  enemies  who  entered  the  house  .  .  .  insulted 
over  me  awhile,  holding  up  hatchets  over  my  head,  threa  ning  to 
burn  all  I  had ;  but  yet  God,  beyond  expectation,  made  us  in  a  great 
measure  to  be  pitied.  For  though  some  were  so  cruel  and  barbarous 
as  to  take  and  carry  to  the  door  two  of  my  children  and  murder 
them,  as  also  a  negro  woman ;  yet  they  gave  me  liberty  to  put  on 
my  clothes,  keeping  me  bound  with  a  cord  on  one  arm  till  I  put  on 
my  clothes  to  the  other ;  and  then  changing  my  cord,  they  let  me 
dress  myself,  and  then  pinioned  me  again.  Gave  liberty  to  my  dear 
wife  to  dress  herself  and  our  remaining  children.  About  sun  an 
hour  high  we  were  all  carried  out  of  the  house  for  a  march,  and  saw 
many  of  the  houses  of  my  neighbors  in  flames,  perceiving  the  whole 
fort,  one  house  excepted,  to  be  taken.  .  .  .  Upon  my  parting  from 
the  town  they  fired  my  house  and  barn." 

The  one  house  excepted  —  of  those  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  fort  —  was  the  Ensign  Sheldon  house.  Its  stout  door 
was  hacked  with  axes  and  cut  partly  through,  but  could 
not  be  broken  in.     Through  a  slit  bullets  were  shot  at 


174  Connecticut  River 

random,  and  the  ensign's  wife  was  killed  while  sitting  on 
a  bed.  The  son  and  his  bride  jumped  from  a  window 
of  the  east  chamber  in  which  Mrs.  Sheldon  was  killed. 
Hannah,  spraining  her  ankle  in  the  fall,  and  unable  to 
escape,  unselfishly  urged  her  husband  to  fly  to  Hatfield 
for  aid.  This  he  did,  "  binding  strips  of  a  woolen  blanket 
about  his  naked  feet  as  he  ran."  She  was  taken  captive. 
Entrance  to  the  house  was  at  length  effected  by  a  back 
door,  and  those  of  its  inmates  remaining  were  captured. 
The  ensign's  little  two-year  old  daughter  tradition  says 
was  taken  to  the  door  and  her  brains  dashed  out  on  the 
door-stone.  The  house  was  set  on  fire  as  the  Indians  were 
leaving,  but  was  saved  from  destruction.  It  remained  for 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half,  a  landmark  of  the  tragedy 
known  as  the  "Old  Fort."  The  battered  front  door,  sup- 
ported by  the  original  door-posts  —  and  with  a  print  por- 
trait of  de  Rouville  tacked  upon  its  frame  —  is  preserved 
in  Memorial  Hall  hard  by,  with  other  relics  of  the  Sack. 

About  the  Benoni  Stebbins  house  the  fiercest  battle 
was  fought,  and  here  the  tide  was  turned  against  the 
enemy.  Attacked  later  than  some  of  the  other  houses,  its 
inmates  had  some  time  to  prepare  for  defence.  The  women 
in  common  with  the  men  armed  themselves,  and  stood 
with  their  guns  behind  the  windows  ready  to  meet  the 
first  onslaught.  When  it  came  the  Indians  were  driven 
back  with  loss  from  the  well  directed  fire.  A  second  assault 
by  a  stronger  force  was  alike  repelled.  A  short  respite 
was  permitted  the  besieged  while  the  enemy  was  capturing, 
killing,  and  plundering  at  other  points.  Then  the  enemy 
came  in  force  upon  them,  nearly  the  whole  army,  —  the 
French  soldiers  now  taking  a  part,  —  and  surrounded 
the  house.  Bullets  rained  upon  it  from  every  quarter.  The 
brave  garrison  sent  out  well-aimed  shots  in  return.    Several 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  175 

more  of  the  enemy  fell,  among  them  young  Lieutenant 
de  Rouville.  In  desperate  attempts  to  set  fire  to  the  house 
a  Macqua  chief  and  several  of  his  men  lost  their  lives. 
This  chief  was  the  one  against  whose  breast  Parson  Wil- 
liams had  pressed  his  cocked  pistol  when  seized  in  the 
parsonage.  At  length  the  assailants  were  driven  to  cover, 
—  in  the  Sheldon  house,  which  they  now  held,  and  the 
meeting-house.  From  these  shelters  the  attack  was  re- 
newed. Still  the  garrison  held  out,  and  the  beseigers  were 
kept  at  bay  till  relief  appeared.  This  came  from  a  party 
of  thirty  men  on  horseback  from  the  towns  below  who  had 
hastened  up  in  response  to  the  alarm  spread  by  young 
Sheldon,  and  by  the  smoke  of  the  burning  town.  The 
siege  had  continued  for  three  hours.  Seven  men  and  a 
few  women  in  an  unfortified  house  had  successfully  opposed 
"  so  great  a  number  of  French  and  Indians  as  three  hund- 
red,"—  the  figures  are  Parson  Williams's.  Truly,  as  Shel- 
don the  historian  exclaims, "  in  all  the  wars  of  New  England 
there  is  no  more  gallant  act  recorded  than  this  defence." 

Only  one  of  the  defenders  was  killed ;  but  he  was  the 
leader,  —  Sergeant  Stebbins.  One  of  the  fighting  women, 
Mrs.  Hoyt,  was  wounded ;  and  also  one  of  the  two  soldiers 
who  had  been  stationed  in  the  house  as  guard.  When  the 
relief  party  arrived  a  portion  of  the  besiegers  had  with- 
drawn and  were  busied  in  collecting  plunder,  in  killing  the 
settlers'  stock,  in  seciu-ing  provisions  for  the  return  march, 
and  in  taking  captives  to  the  rendezvous.  A  rush  was  made 
on  those  continuing  the  siege,  the  others  were  scattered, 
and  all  driven  "  pell  mell  out  of  the  north  gate,  across  the 
home  lots,  and  North  Meadows."  The  Stebbins  house  freed, 
the  men  of  its  valiant  garrison  joined  in  the  chase,  while  the 
women  and  children  ran  to  the  cover  of  Captain  Jonathan 
Wells's  fortified  house  outside  the  fort.    The  Stebbins  house 


176  Connecticut  River 

was  accidentally  burned  after  its  inmates  had  left.  The 
chase,  joined  in  also  by  Captain  Wells  and  fifteen  other 
Deerfield  men  with  some  garrison  soldiers,  was  hotly  con- 
tinued for  about  a  mile,  without  order,  each  man  fighting 
on  his  own  hook.  As  the  pursuers  warmed  up,  coats  were 
thrown  off,  then  waistcoats,  jackets,  neckcloths.  Captain 
Wells,  fully  alive  to  the  danger  of  such  a  headlong  pursuit 
of  an  Indian  foe,  tried  hard  to  check  it,  but  in  vain ;  and 
at  length  the  pursuers  ran  directly  into  the  "  inevitable 
ambush."  Nine  were  killed,  the  others  fled  back  in  a 
panic. 

At  night,  when  the  number  of  men  gathered  in  the  vil- 
lage from  other  towns  had  increased  to  about  eighty,  an 
immediate  renewal  of  pursuit  and  attack  was  urged. 
But  the  difficulties  in  the  way  made  successful  result 
appear  out  of  the  question.  The  snow  was  three  feet 
deep  and  impassable  without  snowshoes ;  and  of  these 
there  was  scant  supply.  It  was  probable  that  the  enemy 
could  not  be  caught  up  with  and  attacked  before  daylight. 
If  the  approach  of  a  rescue  party  were  discovered  they 
might  and  probably  would  at  once  massacre  the  captives. 
Such  reasoning  finally  prevailed,  and  the  scheme  was  re- 
luctantly abandoned.  Diu:ing  the  following  day  Connecti- 
cut men,  from  farther  down  the  River,  began  to  arrive, 
coming  in  small  parties,  on  horseback,  till  by  nightfall  the 
total  of  able-bodied  men  present  had  increased  to  two  hund- 
red and  fifty.  Pursuit  again  was  proposed.  Now,  how- 
ever, the  weather  had  changed ;  a  warm  rain  had  begun 
to  fall,  softening  the  snow  and  ice,  and  rendering  travel 
hazardous.  So  this  second  plan  had  to  be  given  up. 
Meanwhile  the  dead  lying  in  the  village  were  buried  (in  a 
common  grave  in  the  old  graveyard  on  Academy  Lane, 
leading  along  the  lower  side  of  the  Common) ;  and  remnants 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  177 

of  the  property  of  the  remaining  inhabitants  left  by  the  de- 
spoilers  —  strayed  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep  —  were  collected. 
Then  a  garrison  of  thirty  or  more  men  was  formed  imder 
Captain  Wells,  and  established  in  his  fortified  house  ;  and 
those  from  other  towns  returned  sadly  to  their  own  homes. 
There  remained  of  Deerfield  folk  twenty-five  men,  with  as 
many  women,  and  seventy-five  children,  forty  three  under 
ten. 

Of  the  town's  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  inhabitants 
before  the  Sack,  all  but  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  were 
either  killed  or  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  on  the  cruel 
march  of  three  himdred  miles  through  the  wilderness. 

After  the  Sack  the  few  survivors  left  in  Deerfield  re- 
solved to  abandon  the  place.  But  Colonel  Samuel  Par- 
tridge, the  military  commander  in  the  Valley,  forbade  them 
to  leave.  Soldiers  were  brought  in  from  below  and  it  was 
made  a  military  station.  The  able-bodied  men  of  the 
village  were  impressed  as  soldiers  in  the  queen's  service  and 
the  non-combatants  were  sent  off  to  the  lower  towns.  The 
impressed  men  were  to  labor  in  the  fields  by  turns  three 
days  out  of  five.  This  was  done  at  the  peril  of  their  lives, 
for  the  woods  "were  full  of  lurking  Indians  watching 
chances  for  spoil,"  and  raids  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  enemy  also  continued  at  intervals  to  swoop  down  from 
Canada  in  force  upon  the  frontiers.  Near  the  middle  of 
May  following  the  Sack,  Pascommuck,  a  fortified  outlying 
hamlet  of  Northampton,  was  surprised  by  a  band  of  French 
and  Indians  led  by  Sieur  de  Montingy,  and  the  whole 
lot  of  settlers  there,  thirty-seven  men,  women,  and  child- 
ren, were  captured  and  hurried  off  on  the  march  for 
Canada.  A  company  of  horsemen  speedily  in  pursuit 
caught  the  enemy  not  far  on  their  up-river  journey,  but 


178  Connecticut  River 

with  direful  results;  for  the  approach  of  tlieir  piursuers 
"  caused  them  to  nock  all  the  Captives  on  the  head  save 
five  or  six.  Three  they  carried  to  Canada  with  them,  the 
others  escaped ;  and  about  seven  of  those  nocked  on  the 
head  recovered,  ye  rest  died."  The  leader  of  the  pursuers, 
Captain  John  Taylor,  of  Northampton,  was  killed. 

Captain  de  Montingy  had  been  sent  down  by  de 
Vaudreuil,  after  the  triumphant  return  of  Hertel  de  Rou- 
ville,  ostensibly  to  avenge  some  English  wrongs  upon  a 
northern  tribe,  in  pursuance  of  de  Vaudreuil' s  original 
policy  of  fostering  the  savage  flame  against  the  English ; 
and  upon  his  return  with  the  report  of  this  slaughter, 
which  "wonderfully  lifted  up"  the  Indians  "with  pride," 
de  Vaudreuil  resolved  "to  lay  desolate  all  the  places 
on  the  Connecticut  River "  at  a  single  stroke.  To  this 
end  he  sent  forth  an  army  of  seven  hundred  Indians 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  French  soldiers  imder 
Captain  de  Beaucours,  with  several  Jesuits  in  the  train. 
"  This  army  went  away  in  such  a  boasting  and  triumphing 
manner,"  wrote  Parson  Williams  upon  witnessing  the  de- 
parture during  his  captivity,  "  that  I  had  great  hopes 
God  would  discover  and  disappoint  their  design."  They 
were  disappointed,  and  they  "  tiurned  back  ashamed."  De 
Vaudreuil' s  inadequate  explanation  of  the  failure  of  the 
expedition,  made  in  his  home  report,  was  that  "  a  French 
soldier  deserted  within  a  day's  journey  of  the  enemy," 
whereupon  a  panic  "  seized  the  minds  of  our  Indians  to 
such  a  degree  that  it  was  impossible  for  Sieur  de  Beaucours 
to  prevent  their  retreating."  Sheldon's  more  reasonable 
view  is  that  they  probably  found  the  River  towns  too  much 
on  the  alert  for  a  surprise,  and  they  had  "  no  stomach  for 
an  open  attack."  They  doubtless  also  were  affected  by 
accounts  of  the  performance  of  a  scouting  party,  composed 


The  Sack  of  Deerfield  179 

of  Caleb  Lyman  of  Northampton  and  a  few  Connecticut 
Indian  allies,  twenty  miles  below  the  general  Indian  ren- 
dezvous of  Cowass  on  the  Great  Ox-bow  of  the  River  in 
Newbury,  Vermont  side.  This  was  the  destruction  of  an 
Indian  camp  and  the  indiscriminate  scalping  of  its  occu- 
pants, women  with  the  men,  which  brought  about  the 
abandonment  of  Cowass  and  the  flight  of  its  Indians 
Canada-ward.  But  so  long  as  this  army  hovered  about  the 
frontiers  its  scouts  harassed  the  outlying  towns  below 
Deerfield,  as  far  down  as  Springfield. 

Deerfield  ceased  to  be  the  frontier  town  after  the  close 
of  Queen  Anne's  War,  Northfield  becoming  the  outermost 
settlement  in  1714,  when  its  long  deserted  lands  were  per- 
manently reoccupied. 


XIV 

The  ''Redeemed  Captive's"  Story 

Journey  of  the  Deerfield  Band  as  described  by  Parson  Williams  —  His  last  Walk 
with  his  Wife  —  Their  tender  Parting  —  The  Gentle  Lady  soon  Slain  — 
Her  Grave  in  the  Old  Deerfield  Burying-groiind  —  Other  Captives  Killed 
on  the  Hard  March  —  The  Minister's  Faith  in  the  Practical  Value  of  Prayer 
—  The  first  Sunday  out :  Service  of  Sermon  and  Song  —  Canadian  experi- 
ences—  The  Minister's  Wrestlings  with  the  "  Papists"  — Fate  of  his  Chil- 
dren—  A  Daughter  becomes  a  Chief's  Wife — The  "Lost  Dauphm  of 
France." 

OF  the  march  of  the  Deerfield  captives  of  1704,  its 
hardships,  perils,  and  tragedies,  we  have  the  minutest 
particulars  in  the  minister's  unique  account  in  his  "Re- 
deemed Captive  Returning  to  Zion,"  supplemented  by  the 
journal  of  his  son  Stephen,  then  a  lad  of  about  eleven. 
The  forlorn  company  were  gathered  together  and  prepared 
for  the  march  at  the  rendezvous  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain where  the  enemy  had  made  ready  for  the  attack  upon 
the  town.  More  than  half  of  the  one  hundred  and  twelve, 
Sheldon  says,  were  under  eighteen  years  of  age ;  forty  of 
them  not  over  twelve,  and  twelve  under  five.  One  of  the 
latter,  a  "  suckling  child,"  was  killed  before  the  march 
began.  All  were  provided  with  moccasins  in  place  of  their 
shoes.  As  they  ascended  the  bluff  the  unhappy  band 
gazed  back  at  the  smoke  of  the  fires,  beholding  '■'  the  awful 
desolation  of  Deerfield."  Twenty-two  of  them  were  to 
fall  under  the  cruel  tomahawk,  or  perish  from  exposure  or 
hunger  on  the  march.  Two  were  to  have  the  good  fortune 
of  escaping.     Only  sixty  were  to  retiurn  to  their  friends. 

180 


The  "  Redeemed  Captive's  "  son, 

Stephen   Williams. 

Minister  of  Longmeadow  for  sixty-six  years 

(1716-1782). 


The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  181 

The  rest  were  to  adopt  Indian  or  French  habits ;  some 
were  to  intermarry  with  their  captors ;  some  to  enter  the 
Catholic  religious  orders  in  Canada. 

"We  travelled  not  far  the  first  day,"  runs  the  minis- 
ter's narrative.  "  When  we  came  to  our  lodging-place 
the  first  night  [in  a  swamp  on  Greenfield  meadows]  they 
dug  away  the  snow  and  made  some  wigwams,  cut  down  some 
small  branches  of  the  spruce-tree  to  lie  down  on,  and  gave 
the  prisoners  something  to  eat ;  but  we  had  little  appetite. 
I  was  pinioned  and  bound  down  that  night ;  and  so  I  was 
every  night  whilst  I  was  with  the  army.  Some  of  the 
enemy  who  brought  drink  with  them  from  the  town  fell 
to  drinking,  and  in  their  drunken  fit  they  killed  my  negro 
man.  In  the  night  an  Englishman  made  his  escape ;  in 
the  morning  I  was  called  for,  and  ordered  by  the  general 
[Rouville]  to  tell  the  English  that  if  any  more  made 
their  escape  they  would  burn  the  rest  of  the  prisoners." 
The  minister's  "master"  thus  far  on  the  march  —  one  of 
the  survivors  of  the  three  Macquas  who  had  first  seized 
him  in  the  parsonage  and  who  held  him  as  their  especial 
prize  —  would  not  permit  him  to  speak  with  any  of  the 
prisoners.  But  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day  he  passed 
to  his  other  "master,"  who  was  so  lenient  as  to  give  him 
the  blessed  privilege  of  walking  for  a  while  with  his  wife 
when  they  overtook  the  poor  lady  dragging  her  weak 
limbs  through  the  trackless  snow.  Then  follows  this 
pathetic  passage : 

"  On  the  way  we  discoursed  of  the  happiness  of  those  who  had 
a  right  to  a  house  not  made  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens ;  and 
God  for  a  father  and  friend  ;  as  also,  that  it  was  our  reasonable  duty 
quietly  to  submit  to  the  will  of  God,  and  to  say,  '  the  will  of  the 
Lord  be  done.'  My  wife  told  me  her  strength  of  body  began  to  fail, 
and  that  I  must  expect  to  part  with  her ;  saying  she  hoped  God 


182  Connecticut  River 

would  preserve  my  life,  aad  the  life  of  some  if  not  all  of  our  children 
with  us ;  and  commended  to  me,  under  God,  the  care  of  them.  She 
never  spake  any  discontented  word  as  to  what  had  befallen  us,  but 
with  suitable  expressions  justified  God  in  what  had  happened.  We 
soon  made  a  halt,  in  which  time  my  chief  surviving  master  came  up, 
ui)on  which  I  was  put  upon  marching  with  the  foremost ;  and  so 
made  my  last  farewell  of  my  dear  wife,  the  desire  of  my  eyes,  and 
companion  in  many  mercies  and  afflictions.  Upon  our  separation 
from  each  other  we  asked  for  each  other  grace  sufficient  for  what 
God  should  call  us  to  do.  After  our  being  parted  from  one  another 
she  spent  the  few  remaining  minutes  of  her  stay  in  reading  the 
Holy  Scriptures." 

Poor  lady  indeed !  but  rich  in  sweet  virtues  and  simple 
faith.  Very  soon  after  this  exalted  parting  she  came  to 
the  death  she  had  foreseen.  In  crossing  Green  River, 
through  which  all  were  compelled  to  wade,." the  water 
being  above  knee-deep,  the  stream  very  swift,"  she  fell 
prostrate  in  the  chilling  current.  Weakened  pitifully  by 
her  fall,  she  staggered  but  little  beyond  when  "  the  cruel 
and  bloodthristy  savage  who  took  her  slew  her  with  his 
hatchet  at  one  stroke."  The  place  where  she  thus  fell  is 
close  to  the  upper  line  of  Greenfield  at  the  foot  of  the  Ley- 
den  Hills,  and  is  now  marked  by  a  monument  erected  by 
the  Pocumtuck  Valley  Memorial  Association  of  Deerfield. 
Word  of  her  fate  reached  the  minister  while  he  was  rest- 
ing at  the  top  of  the  hill  below  which  she  was  slain  : 

"  No  sooner  had  I  overcome  the  difficulty  of  that  ascent  but  I 
was  permitted  to  sit  down  and  be  unburdened  of  my  pack.  I  sat 
pitying  those  who  were  behind,  and  entreating  my  master  to  let  me 
go  down  and  help  my  wife ;  but  he  refused  and  would  not  let  me 
stir  from  him.  I  asked  each  of  the  prisoners,  as  they  passed  by  me, 
after  her  [and  so  got  the  awful  tidings  of  her  taking  off].  And  yet 
such  was  the  hardheartedness  of  the  adversary  that  my  tears  were 
reckoned  to  me  as  a  reproach.     My  loss  and  the  loss  of  my  children 


The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  183 

was  great ;  our  hearts  were  so  filled  with  sorrow  that  nothing  but 
the  comfortable  hopes  of  her  being  taken  away  in  mercy  to  herself 
from  the  evils  we  were  to  see,  feel,  and  suffer  under  .  .  .  could  have 
kept  us  from  sinking  under  at  that  time.  .  .  .  We  were  again  called 
upon  to  march,  with  a  far  heavier  burden  on  my  spirits  than  on  my 
back." 

Subsequently  Deerfield  men  ranging  this  country  after 
the  sad  procession  had  long  passed,  found  the  body  of 
Eunice  Williams,  and  bringing  it  back  to  the  village  gave 
it  decent  burial  in  the  old  graveyard  near  the  common 
grave  of  the  earlier  victims  of  the  Sack.  To-day  her  grave 
is  seen  beside  that  of  her  husband,  under  boughs  of  arbor- 
vitse,  with  a  headstone  thus  inscribed :  "  Here  lyeth  the 
Body  of  M'"^  Eunice  Williams,  the  Vertuous  &  desirable 
Consort  of  the  Rev^^"^  M^  John  Williams  &  Daughter  to  y® 
Rev^d  M''  Eleazer  and  M.^^  Esther  Mather  of  Northampton. 
She  was  Born  Aug*  2,  1664,  and  fell  by  the  rage  of  y^ 
Barbarous  Enemy  March  1,  1703-4.  Prov :  31,  28.  Her 
Children  arise  up  &  Call  her  Blessed."  Under  forty  years 
of  age,  the  gentle  lady  had  been  the  mother  of  eleven  child- 
ren, six  of  whom  survived  her. 

The  march  continued  along  the  west  side  country  fol- 
lowing an  Indian  trail  northeasterly,  through  the  present 
Massachusetts  towns  of  Leyden  and  Bernardstown,  and 
Vernon  over  the  Vermont  line,  to  Brattleborough  and  the 
mouth  of  West  River,  when  the  Connecticut's  frozen  sur- 
face was  taken.  The  camp  for  the  second  night  was  set 
in  Bernardstown.  Before  the  company  were  halted  for 
this  night  two  more  had  been  killed,  —  an  infant  at  the 
breast,  and  a  little  girl.  Mr.  Williams  had  also  been 
threatened  by  an  Abenaki  who  talked  with  his  master 
about  taking  his  scalp.  But  the  master  promised  him  that 
he  would  not  be  killed.     At  this  camp  a  more  equal  dis- 


184  Connecticut  River 

tribution  of  the  captives  among  the  Indians  was  made, 
while  the  minister  and  others,  stript  of  their  good  clothes, 
which  the  Indians  sold  to  the  French  soldiers,  were  obliged 
to  don  the  Frenchmen's  coarser  and  dirtier  garments. 
From  Stephen  Williams  they  took  the  "  silver  buttons  and 
buckles  which  I  had  on  my  shirt."  While  here  also  the 
captives  had  a  fresh  alarm.  Observing  several  of  the 
savages  peeling  bark  from  trees,  and  acting  strangely, 
they  apprehended  that  some  of  them  were  to  be  burned. 
But  the  minister  calmed  their  fears  with  the  assurance 
that  he  was  "persuaded  that"  God  "wovild  prevent  such 
severities."  As  it  happened  these  severities  were  not  re- 
sorted to,  but  another  unhappy  woman,  who  "  being  near  the 
time  of  her  travail  was  wearied  with  her  journey,"  was 
killed. 

From  the  rendezvous  at  the  mouth  of  West  River, 
where  the  sleds  with  the  teams  of  dogs  were  taken,  the 
march  up  the  Connecticut  was  made  with  greater  haste, 
for  a  thaw  threatened  the  break-up  of  the  ice.  Several 
of  the  children  were  drawn  by  the  Indians  on  the  sleds 
with  their  wounded  and  their  packs.  For  some  hours 
the  company  travelled  through  slush  and  water  up  to  the 
ankles.  Near  night  Mr.  Williams  became  very  lame,  from 
an  ankle  which  he  had  wrenched  not  long  before  his  cap- 
ture. And  now  there  came  to  him  one  of  several  experi- 
ences on  the  journey  that  satisfied  his  believing  soul  of  the 
practical  value  of  prayer :  "I  thought,  and  so  did  others, 
that  I  should  not  be  able  to  hold  out  to  travel  far.  I 
lifted  up  my  heart  to  God,  my  only  refuge,  to  remove  my 
lameness  and  carry  me  through  with  my  children  and 
neighbors  if  he  judged  it  best;  however,  I  desired  God 
would  be  with  me  in  my  great  change  if  he  called  me  by 
such  a  death  to  glorify  him;  and  that  he  would  take  care 


The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  185 

of  my  children  and  neighbors,  and  bless  them :  and  within 
a  little  space  of  time  I  was  well  of  my  lameness,  to  the 
joy  of  my  friends  who  saw  so  great  an  alteration  in  my 
travelling."  Others,  however,  were  less  fortunate.  For 
the  next  day  the  speed  was  so  great  that  four  women 
became  tired  out  and  they  were  forthwith  slain.  Stephen's 
diary  records  of  this  time,  "  they  killed  near  a  dozen  of 
women  and  children,  for  their  manner  was  if  any  loitered 
to  kill  them." 

On  the  first  Sunday  of  the  tragic  journey  Bellows  Falls 
had  been  passed  and  the  mouth  of  Williams  River  reached. 
Here  the  whole  company  rested  for  that  day,  and  the 
minister  was  permitted  to  hold  that  Christian  service  under 
the  wintry  sky,  with  the  dusky  heathen  girding  his  shatr 
tered  congregation,  which  is  commemorated  in  this  river's 
name.  Mr.  Williams  rose  grandly  to  the  occasion.  He 
prayed  with  his  stricken  people,  and  preached  them  a  ser- 
mon, taking  for  his  text  "  Lam.  1. 18  :  '  The  Lord  is  right- 
eous, for  I  have  rebelled  against  his  commandments  :  hear, 
I  pray  you,  all  people,  and  behold  my  sorrow  :  my  virgins 
and  my  young  men  have  gone  into  captivity.'  "  Then,  at 
the  call  of  the  Indians  to  "  sing  us  one  of  Zion's  songs," 
he  and  the  congregation  bravely  lifted  up  their  sad  voices 
in  a  familiar  hymn ;  and  some  of  their  dusky  auditors  were 
fain  to  upbraid  them  because  ''  our  singing  was  not  so  loud 
as  theirs."  Mr.  Williams  reflects  mournfully  upon  the 
difference  between  the  Indians'  and  the  Papists'  treatment 
of  them  in  respect  to  freedom  of  worship.  "  When,"  he 
writes,  "  the  Macquas  and  Indians  were  chief  in  power  we 
held  this  revival  in  our  bondage,  to  join  together  in  the 
worship  of  God,  and  encourage  one  another  to  a  patient 
bearing  the  indignation  of  the  Lord  till  he  should  plead 
our  cause.     When  we  arrived  at  New  France  we  were  for- 


186  Connecticut  River 

bidden  praying  one  with  another,  or  joining  together  in 
the  service  of  God."  But  their  revival  had  no  influence 
upon  the  policy  of  their  captors.  On  the  next  day's  march 
two  women  becoming  too  faint  to  travel  were  despatched. 
The  day  following  occurred  another  pathetic  parting,  with 
an  exhibition  of  the  wonderful  fortitude  as  well  as  faith 
of  the  women  of  this  captive  band : 

"  In  the  morning  before  we  travelled  one  Mary  Brooks,  a  pioua 
young  woman,  came  to  the  wigwam  where  I  was  and  told  me  she 
desired  to  bless  God  who  had  inclined  the  heart  of  her  master  to  let 
her  come  and  take  her  farewell  of  me.  Said  she,  '  by  my  falls  on 
the  ice  yesterday  I  injured  myself  causing  a  miscarriage  this  night, 
so  that  I  am  not  able  to  travel  far :  I  know  they  will  kill  me  to-day ; 
but,'  says  she, '  God  has  (praise  be  his  name !)  by  his  spirit,  with  his 
word,  strengthened  me  to  my  last  encounter  with  death,'  and  so 
mentioned  to  me  some  places  of  scripture  seasonably  sent  in  for  her 
support.  '  And,'  says  she, '  I  am  not  afraid  of  death ;  I  can  through 
the  grace  of  God  cheerfully  submit  to  his  will.  Pray  for  me,'  said 
she,  at  parting,  <  that  God  would  take  me  to  himself.'  Accordingly 
she  was  killed  that  day." 

At  the  mouth  of  White  River,  now  White  River  Junc- 
tion, Hertel  de  Rouville  broke  up  the  company  into  small 
parties  who  continued  the  journey  in  different  directions. 
The  party  to  which  Mr.  Williams  with  his  children,  other 
than  Stephen,  was  attached  followed  the  valleys  of  the 
White  and  Winooski  rivers,  Lake  Champlain,  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  Sorel  rivers,  to  the  French  village  of 
Chambly,  fifteen  miles  below  Montreal,  being  a  little  over 
a  month  on  .he  march.  Stephen  Williams  was  carried 
with  the  band  that  continued  up  the  Connecticut  and  into 
the  Coos  country.  After  months  of  wandering,  they  struck 
across  to  the  Winooski  and  made  their  way  to  Chambly 
and  the  Indian  fort  of  St.   FrauQois  above,  which  was 


Pi 


The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  187 

reached  in  August.  The  hardships  of  the  minister's  party 
were  but  httle  relaxed  through  the  remainder  of  their  jour- 
ney. Early  on  the  way  another  child,  a  little  girl  of  four, 
was  killed,  her  Macqua  master  finding  the  snow  too  deep 
for  him  comfortably  to  carry  both  the  child  and  his  pack. 
Still  there  were  some  worthy  exhibitions  of  savage  kind- 
ness. The  minister's  children  fared  exceptionally  well. 
The  youngest  daughter,  Eunice,  aged  seven,  was  "  carried 
all  the  journey,  and  looked  after  with  a  great  deal  of  ten- 
derness." The  youngest  boy,  Warham,  four  years  old,  was 
"  wonderfully  preserved  from  death  ;  for  though  they  that 
carried  him  or  drew  him  on  sleighs  were  tired  with  their 
journeys,  yet  their  savage  cruel  tempers  were  so  overruled 
by  God  that  they  did  not  kill  him,  but  in  their  pity  he 
was  spared,  and  others  would  take  care  of  him ;  so  that 
four  times  on  the  journey  he  was  thus  preserved  till  at  last 
he  arrived  in  Montreal."  So  also  the  elder  son,  Samuel, 
and  the  eldest  daughter,  Esther,  "  were  pitied  so  as  to  be 
drawn  on  sleighs  when  unable  to  travel."  Mr.  Williams 
himself  was  occasionally  helped  along  by  his  master.  The 
latter  made  a  pair  of  snowshoes  for  him,  and  the  first  day 
of  wearing  them  he  travelled  twenty-five  miles.  Along 
one  of  the  hard  passages,  when  he  was  foot-sore,  the  mas- 
ter relieved  him  of  his  pack  by  drawing  it  with  his  own 
heavy  one  on  the  ice.  One  day  they  travelled  from  forty 
to  forty-five  miles.  On  the  lake  the  devout  minister  had 
another  "  wonderful  experience  "  of  the  miraculous  efficacy 
of  prayer,  as  he  could  not  doubt : 

"  When  we  entered  on  the  lake  the  ice  "was  rough  and  uneven  which 
was  very  grievous  to  my  feet  that  could  scarce  bear  to  set  down  on 
the  smooth  ice  on  the  river.  I  lifted  up  my  cry  to  God  in  ejaculatory 
requests  that  he  would  take  notice  of  my  state  and  some  way  or 
other  relieve  me.     I  had  not  marched  half  a  mile  before  there  fell  a 


188  Connecticut  River 

moist  snow  about  an  inch  and  a  half  deep,  that  made  it  very  soft  for 
my  feet  to  pass  over  the  lake  to  the  place  where  my  master's  family 
was.     Wonderful  favors  in  the  midst  of  trying  afflictions ! " 

At  length  arriving  at  Chambly,  Mr.  Williams  was  hos- 
pitably received  into  a  French  gentleman's  house  and  thank- 
fully enjoyed  once  again  the  luxury  of  a  civilized  table  and 
rest  at  night  on  "  a  good  feather  bed."  The  greater  part 
of  the  other  captives  had  arrived  before  him  and  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  Indians.  His  four  children,  who  before 
the  end  of  the  journey  had  been  separated  from  him,  were, 
all  but  little  Warham,  in  or  about  Montreal,  in  the  Indians' 
hands.  Warham  had  been  bought  by  a  French  gentle- 
woman in  Montreal  as  the  Indians  passed  by.  Nothing 
was  at  this  time  to  be  learned  here  of  Stephen's  fate.  Later 
taken  up  to  Montreal,  Mr.  Williams  was  placed  under  the 
guardianship  of  the  governor,  by  whom  he  was  held  for 
exchange  for  Captain  Baptiste.  So  far  as  it  related  to  his 
"  outward  man "  the  governor's  treatment  of  him  was 
"courteous  and  charitable  to  admiration."  He  was  as  a 
guest  in  the  governor's  house.  He  was  provided  with 
clothing  as  became  his  station,  given  a  place  at  the  gover- 
nor's table,  and  "a  very  good  chamber"  for  his  living 
room.  The  governor  also  exerted  himself  to  get  the  min- 
ister's neighbors  out  of  the  hands  of  the  savages,  and  espe- 
cially to  redeem  his  children,  in  which  latter  efforts  the 
governor's  lady  lent  her  kindly  aid.  All  the  children  were 
ultimately  redeemed  excepting  the  daughter  Eunice,  whom 
the  Macquas  would  not  give  up  at  any  price.  So  she  re- 
mained permanently  with  them,  growing  early  to  their 
ways  and  customs,  losing  her  native  language  and  religion, 
becoming  a  Catholic  under  the  teaching  of  nuns  in  her 
girlhood,  and  in  time  marrying  a  Caughnawaga  chief  who 
adopted  her  name  of  Williams.     Young  Stephen  suffered 


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3 


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a; 


The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  189 

many  hardships  and  some  romantic  adventures,  though 
"  wonderfully  preserved  "  through  his  long  months  of  In- 
dian life,  during  a  time  of  "  famine  whereof  three  English 
persons  died."  He  became  skilful  in  the  arts  of  the  Indian 
hunter,  and  an  adept  in  woodcraft.  He  was  finally  ran- 
somed, and  rejoined  the  father  in  the  village  of  Chateau 
Riche,  fifteen  miles  below  Quebec,  after  a  separation  of 
more  than  a  year. 

But  while  the  minister's  "  outward  man  "  was  so  com- 
forted by  his  treatment  by  the  governor  and  other  French- 
men, his  heart  was  torn  by  the  miseries  of  his  captive 
people  through  the  Jesuit  schemes  to  force  them  into 
"  Popery."  He  too  was  in  constant  battle  in  defence  of 
his  orthodoxy.  Every  art  was  employed  to  win  or  entrap 
him  into  the  Romish  fold.  He  was  cajoled,  threatened, 
reasoned  with,  badgered  incessantly,  the  pressure  tightened 
with  his  unbending  resistance.  Once,  at  Quebec,  when 
the  intendant  offered  to  collect  all  the  captives  and  his 
children  together  with  him,  and  secure  him  "  a  great  and 
honorable  pension  from  the  king  every  year,"  large  enough 
for  his  and  their  "  honorable  maintenance,"  if  he  would  be- 
come a  Catholic,  his  spirited  reply  was,  "  Sir,  if  I  thought 
your  religion  to  be  true  I  would  embrace  it  freely ;  .  .  .  . 
but  so  long  as  I  believe  it  to  be  what  it  is,  the  offer  of  the 
whole  world  is  of  no  more  value  to  me  than  a  blackberry." 
Earnestly  entreated  by  his  lordship  to  accompany  him  in 
his  coach  to  the  great  church  on  a  saint's  day,  he  replied, 
"Ask  me  anything  wherein  I  can  serve  you  with  a  good 
conscience,  and  I  am  ready  to  gratify  you,  but  I  must  ask 
your  excuse  here."  Shortly  before  his  redemption,  when 
he  had  been  in  Canada  for  two  years,  the  "  superior  of  the 
priests,"  remarking  his  now  ragged  clothes,  told  him  that 
his  "  obstinacy  against  the  Catholic  religion  prevented  their 


190  Connecticut  River 

providing  him  better"  ones.  "It  is  better  going  in  a 
ragged  coat  than  with  a  ragged  conscience,"  he  retorted. 

He  was  denied  intercourse  with  the  other  captives  lest 
he  should  hinder  the  work  of  proselytism.  But  ways  of 
communicating  with  them,  and  of  sustaining  them  in  their 
resistance  were  found.  For  the  comfort  of  those  who 
secretly  visited  him,  he  drew  up,  in  his  "  solitariness," 
some  "sorrowful,  mournful  considerations"  on  the  situa- 
tion, in  verse  of  "a  plain  style,"  although  he  was  "un- 
skilled in  poetry,"  —  as  the  opening  lines  attest: 

"  The  sorrows  of  my  heart  enlarged  are, 
Whilst  I  my  present  state  with  past  compare. 
I  frequently  unto  God's  house  did  go, 
With  Christian  friends  his  praises  for  to  show ; 
But  now  I  solitary  sit,  both  sigh  and  cry, 
Whilst  my  flock's  misery  think  on  do  I." 

When  the  negotiations  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  were 
finally  completed  the  tussle  with  the  French  priests  was 
at  its  sharpest.  "  I  cannot  tell  you,"  the  minister  writes, 
"  how  the  clergy  and  others  labored  to  stop  many  of 
the  prisoners.  To  some  liberty,  to  some  money  and 
yearly  pensions  were  offered  if  they  would  stay  .  .  .  Some 
younger  ones  were  told  if  they  went  home  they  would  be 
damned  and  burnt  in  hell  forever,  to  affright  them.  Day 
and  night  they  were  urging  them  to  stay  ...  At  Montreal 
especially  all  crafty  endeavors  were  used  to  stay  "  them. 
But  the  minister  corralled  most  of  the  lot,  and  fifty-seven 
took  passage  on  the  homeward  bound  ship  with  him. 
This  vessel  sailed  from  Quebec  in  October,  1706,  and  in  a 
month  reached  Boston.  With  Mr.  Williams  came  two  of 
his  children,  —  Samuel  and  little  Warham.  Stephen  had 
returned  a   year   earlier,  with    Colonel  William  Dudley, 


The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  191 

Governor  Dudley's  son,  who  had  gone  out  with  proposals 
for  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  Esther,  the  eldest  daughter, 
had  preceded  Stephen,  having  been  brought  home  by  En- 
sign John  Sheldon  with  two  of  the  latter's  children  and 
Mary  (Chapin)  Sheldon,  his  young  daughter-in-law. 

Ensign  Sheldon  had  made  the  first  expedition  for 
the  redemption  of  the  captives,  and  the  first  of  three 
undertaken  by  him,  quests  as  knightly  as  those  of  Waite 
and  Jennings  a  quarter  of  a  centm-y  before.  On  this  first 
trip,  made  in  the  winter  season,  on  snow  shoes,  by  way  of 
Albany  and  the  lakes,  he  had  two  companions :  Captain 
John  Livingstone  of  Albany  as  pilot,  and  young  John  Wells 
of  Deerfield,  who  had  lost  a  sister  in  the  Sack,  and  whose 
mother  was  among  the  captives.  Ensign  Sheldon  himself 
had  four  sons  and  daughters  in  the  captive  band,  and  his 
dead  wife's  brother  with  a  large  family.  He  carried  pro- 
posals from  Governor  Dudley  to  Governor  de  Vaudreuil,  but 
this  mission  was  successful  only  in  the  ransom  of  part  of 
his  family  and  Esther  Williams,  and  the  return  with  him 
of  Captain  Courtemanche  as  a  commissioner  for  the  French 
side  in  the  negotiations  for  exchanges.  His  second  trip, 
again  with  Young  Wells  and  another  in  Livingstone's 
place,  made  in  the  late  winter  of  1705-6,  was  more  suc- 
cessful, for  it  secured  the  ransom  of  forty-three  captives, 
the  greater  number  of  them  Deerfield  folk,  who  returned 
with  him  by  ship  from  Quebec.  His  third  pilgrimage  was 
in  the  spring  of  1707,  and  resulted  in  the  return  of  seven 
captives,  by  the  overland  route,  with  an  escort  by  Mon- 
sieur de  Chambly,  a  brother  of  Hertel  de  Rouville. 

When  Parson  Williams  returned  from  his  captivity  and 
came  back  to  Deerfield,  in  December,  1706,  the  place  was 
yet  little  more  than  a  military  post.     The  minister's  resto- 


192  Connecticut  River 

ration  to  them,  however,  put  new  heart  into  the  few  towns- 
people, and  something  of  the  old  town  life  was  renewed. 
The  town  at  once  voted  to  build  a  new  house  for  the  min- 
ister, as  "big  as  Ensign  Sheldon's,"  which  we  have  seen 
was  the  largest  in  the  place ;  and  before  the  close  of  his 
first  year  back  at  home  he  was  comfortably  settled  in  the 
new  parsonage  with  his  children  (save  Eunice)  again  about 
him,  and  with  another  wife.  The  new  house  was  placed 
on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  and  there  it  remained  for  more 
than  a  century  and  a  half,  the  homestead,  after  the  minis- 
ter's day,  of  generations  of  Williamses,  and  after  them  of 
another  old  Deerfield  family.  Then  it  was  moved  off  a 
few  rods  westward,  to  make  way  for  the  academy ;  and 
here  it  still  stands,  facing  the  minister's  original  home-lot, 
with  an  end  on  Academy  Lane,  a  landmark  protected  with 
jealous  care  by  its  fortunate  possessor.  On  the  edge  of  the 
green  which  it  fronts  an  inscribed  tablet  gives  the  passer 
the  data  of  the  home-lot  and  of  the  two  houses.  The  min- 
ister's second  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  September 
after  his  home-coming,  was  a  cousin  of  the  martyred 
Eunice,  and,  like  her,  a  grandaughter  of  the  Rev.  William 
Warham,  first  minister  of  the  Connecticut  Windsor.  She 
was  Abigail,  widow  of  Benjamin  Bissel  of  Hartford,  when 
she  married  the  minister. 

Of  Eunice  Williams's  children  in  the  new  household, 
three  of  the  sons  became  ministers,  and  the  daughter  a 
minister's  wife.  These  sons  were  put  through  Harvard  Col- 
lege, graduating  respectively,  Eleazer  in  1708,  Stephen  in 
1713,  and  Warham  in  1719.  Eleazer,  the  eldest,  was  ab- 
sent at  school  at  the  time,  and  thus  escaped  capture  in  the 
Sack.  He  became  the  settled  minister  of  Mansfield,  Connec- 
ticut, in  1710,  and  remained  there  till  his  death  in  1742. 
Stephen,  three  years  after  his  graduation,  was  settled  at 


The  "Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  193 

Longmeadow,  down  the  River,  and,  in  charge  of  that 
parish,  spent  his  long  life,  which  closed  in  his  eighty-ninth 
year.  He  was  a  chaplain  in  the  army  in  three  expeditions 
of  the  later  French  and  Indian  wars.  Warham  was  min- 
ister in  Waltham,  eastern  Massachusetts,  and  died  in  that 
office  in  1751,  after  twenty-eight  years  of  service.  Of  his 
children  three  daughters  married  clergymen,  and  a  son  be- 
came a  minister,  professor,  editor,  and  historian.  He  was 
Samuel  Williams,  LL.D.,  author  of  the  first  history  of  Ver- 
mont. Samuel,  Eunice  Williams's  second  son,  became 
town  clerk  of  Deerfield.  He  returned  from  captivity  speak- 
ing the  French  language  fluently ;  and  for  this  reason,  in 
the  latter  part  of  Queen  Anne's  War,  being  then  also  a 
soldier,  he  was  assigned  to  escort  a  party  of  French  pris- 
oners overland  to  Canada.  He  died  early,  —  in  1713, — 
never  quite  recovering  from  the  hardships  of  his  captivity. 
Esther,  Eunice's  daughter,  married  a  minister  of  Coventry, 
Connecticut. 

Eunice,  the  daughter  who  remained  with  the  Indians 
and  married  an  Indian  chief,  was  afterward  found,  but 
could  not  be  induced  to  return  to  civilized  life.  Every 
effort  to  redeem  her  had  failed,  though  strong  influences 
had  been  exerted  for  her  recovery.  When,  as  chaplain  in 
the  expeditions  of  1709  and  1711,  Mr.  Williams  returned 
to  Canada,  the  hope  of  rescuing  her  was  strong  in  him ; 
and  again  when,  in  1714,  he  and  Captain  John  Stoddard 
were  there  as  commissioners  to  treat  for  the  return  of 
prisoners,  this  hope  was  uppermost  in  his  mind.  Negotia- 
tions for  her  ransom  were  instituted  by  officials  at  Boston 
and  at  Albany ;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  father  never 
reached  her.  Years  after,  Stephen  Williams,  having  found 
her,  induced  her  to  visit  him  at  his  home  in  Longmeadow. 
She  came  in  her  Indian  garb,  bringing  her  husband  and  a 


194  Connecticut  River 

train  of  grave-visaged  Indians.  She  greeted  her  brother 
with  affection ;  but  she  was  firmly  attached  to  the  life  of 
the  forest,  and  civilization  had  no  attractions  for  her.  Her 
party  would  not  lodge  in  her  brother's  house,  but  occupied 
during  their  stay  a  wigwam,  which  they  set  up  in  the  or- 
chard behind  the  parsonage.  This  incident  of  her  visit  has 
been  related  by  a  great-granddaughter  of  Stephen  Williams : 
"  One  day  my  grandmother  and  her  sisters  got  their  Aunt 
Eunice  into  the  house  and  dressed  her  up  in  our  fashion. 
Meanwhile  the  Indians  outside  were  very  uneasy;  and 
when  Eunice  went  out  in  her  new  dress  they  were  much 
displeased,  and  she  soon  returned  to  the  house  begging  to 
have  her  blanket  again."  She  lived  to  a  great  age,  dying 
in  her  forest  home  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  Two 
of  her  great-grandsons,  John  and  Eleazer  Williams,  spent 
some  years  of  their  boyhood  in  Longmeadow,  receiving 
their  education  under  "  Deacon  "  Nathaniel  Ely,  who  had 
married  a  granddaughter  of  Stephen  Williams.  One  of 
them,  Eleazer,  became  a  minister  and  a  missionary  among 
the  western  Indians.  He  attained  a  greater  notoriety  in 
his  later  life  through  his  acceptance  of  the  claim  that  he 
was  not  of  Indian  blood,  but  of  royal  French,  —  the  real 
"  lost  dauphin  "  of  Louis  XIV  and  Marie  Antoinette. 

He  was  that  claimant  over  whom  controversy  waged 
warm  fifty  years  ago,  and  good  men  became  heated  to 
angry  invectives  against  each  other.  Older  readers  will 
recall  the  circumstantial  story  of  the  Rev.  John  H.  Hanson 
in  his  papers,  "  Have  We  a  Bourbon  among  Us  ? "  and 
"  The  Bourbon  Question,"  published  in  the  Putnam's 
Monthly  of  1853,  which  opened  the  dispute,  and  his  sub- 
sequent book,  "  The  Lost  Prince,"  restating  the  story,  and 
with  not  a  little  skill  dealing  with  the  critics  and  ridicu- 
lers  of  the  claim.     They  wiU  recall  also  the  battle  of  the 


The  ** Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  195 

pamphleteers  for  and  against  the  claim  which  continued 
after  the  death  of  the  claimant  in  1858.  And  lately  the 
story  has  been  revived  for  modern  readers  in  an  English 
publication,  based  almost  entirely  upon  Dr.  Hanson's  book, 
but  with  slight  if  any  consideration  of  the  strong  evidence 
adduced  by  his  contemporaries  against  his  theory.  The 
basis  upon  which  the  Williams  claim  was  made  principally 
to  rest  was  in  three  propositions :  the  alleged  declaration 
of  his  identity  as  the  dauphin  made  to  him  by  the  Prince  de 
JoinviUe  at  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  in  October,  1841,  upon 
the  occasion  of  de  Joinville's  second  visit  to  America,  with 
the  request  that  he  should  sign  an  abdication  of  the  throne, 
which  he  declined  to  do ;  of  Williams's  remarkable  likeness 
to  the  Bourbons,  and  particularly  to  Louis  XIV  in  feature 
and  figure ;  and  of  the  appearance  upon  his  person  of  a  scar, 
at  the  exact  point  indicated  where  it  should  be,  showing 
the  mark  of  a  crescent-shaped  lancet  which  the  Duchesse 
d'Angouleme  had  said,  when  she  rejected  the  claim  of  Naun- 
dorf,  would  be  found  on  her  brother,  made  by  the  surgeon 
at  the  time  of  his  inoculation,  for  the  purpose  of  identifi- 
cation. Against  these  assumptions  or  declarations,  counter 
evidence  was  brought  (with  the  documents  assuming  to 
attest  the  death  of  the  real  dauphin  in  the  Temple)  to 
show  that  the  fabric  had  been  principally  erected  on 
Williams's  "  say  so  "  ;  that  there  was  nothing  substantial 
in  support  of  the  tale  of  the  secret  bringing  of  the  dauphin 
to  America  and  his  sequestration  with  the  Iroquois  chief, 
the  reputed  father  of  Eleazer ;  that  the  likeness  of  Eleazer 
to  the  Bourbons,  if  not  largely  imaginary,  had  no  signifi- 
cance ;  that  he  had  the  pronounced  marks  of  the  half-breed ; 
that  his  Indian  birth  was  sufficiently  authenticated;  and 
that  his  head  was  turned  by  stories  of  his  "  royal  origin  " 
told  him  by  some  French  officers.     The  last  words  in  the 


196  Connecticut  River 

controversy  were  said  in  Putnam's  Magazine  in  1868, 
against  the  claim,  by  the  Rev.  C.  F.  Robertson,  afterward 
bishop  of  Missouri,  who  was  the  literary  executor  of  Eleazer ; 
and  for  the  claim,  by  the  Rev.  Francis  Vinton  of  Brooklyn, 
afterward  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York.  In  Dr.  Vinton's 
statement  were  related  incidents  which  he  had  not  been 
allowed  to  publish  during  the  life  of  the  persons  concerned, 
the  principal  one  being  an  astonishing  recognition  of  Wil- 
liams as  a  Bourbon  by  Prince  Paul  William,  Duke  of 
Wurtemburg,  in  Mr.  Vinton's  Brooklyn  church  on  a  cer- 
tain Sunday  in  1853,  when  Williams  was  assisting  in  the 
service ;  while  Dr.  Vinton  clinched  the  whole  matter,  at 
least  to  his  own  satisfaction,  with  the  declaration  that  he 
himself  had  seen  the  identifying  mark  of  the  crescent  on 
the  back  of  Williams's  shoulder.  Widely  differing  charac- 
ters were  given  Eleazer  by  the  contending  partisans.  Cer- 
tain soldiers,  General  Cass  and  General  A.  E.  Ellis  among 
them,  who  knew  him  and  ridiculed  his  "  claim,"  declared 
him  to  have  been  a  vain  deceiver  and  dissembler.  The 
Episcopal  ministers  defending  his  cause  pictured  him  as  a 
simple-minded  man,  devoted  to  his  missionary  work,  a  loyal 
Indian  leader  in  the  War  of  1812,  abashed  rather  than 
elated  by  the  notoriety  of  the  "  claim."  Perhaps  the  truth 
lies  between  the  two.  But  the  claim  to  the  French  prince- 
dom has  passed  into  oblivion,  a  closed  romance  of  history. 
Parson  Williams's  second  wife  bore  him  five  children. 
The  eldest  of  them,  Abigail,  named  for  the  mother,  became 
three  times  a  wife.  The  fourth  child,  Elijah,  developed 
into  an  important  man  in  the  last  two  French  wars.  In 
the  ''Old  French  War"  of  1744-48,  as  captain,  he  had 
charge  of  scouting  parties  from  Deerfield  to  cover  the  fron- 
tier on  the  north  and  west.  In  the  final  war,  1755-63,  he 
was  a  major  and  assistant  commissary,  with  headquarters 


The  *' Redeemed  Captive's"  Story  197 

in  Deerfield.  He  was  also  a  judge,  a  civil  engineer,  a  rep- 
resentative in  the  General  Court,  and  town  clerk  and 
selectman  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Like  his  elder  half- 
brothers,  he  was  college  bred,  graduating  from  Harvard  in 
1732,  and  receiving  an  A.  M.  degree  in  1758.  He  married 
first  a  Dwight  of  Hatfield,  and  second  a  Pynchon  of  Spring- 
field. His  son,  also  Elijah,  Harvard  1764,  and  an  A.  M. 
Dartmouth  1773,  a  lawyer  by  profession,  was  a  Tory  in 
the  Revolution  and  served  as  a  captain  on  the  British  side. 
He  had  a  hard  time  with  the  "Liberty  Men"  when  he 
came  home  to  arrange  some  business  matters,  but  he  man- 
aged to  escape  with  his  life. 

The  story  of  this  remarkable  Williams  family  has  been 
enlarged  in  this  chapter  because  it  is  the  story  of  so  many 
of  the  sturdy  stock  of  early  New  England. 

Parson  Williams  died  in  the  summer  of  1729,  in  his 
sixty-fifth  year,  and  was  buried  in  the  old  graveyard  by 
the  side  of  the  martyred  Eunice.  Abigail  Williams  sm*- 
vived  him  a  quarter  of  a  century.  When  she  died,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-one,  she  was  buried  by  the  minister's  side. 
The  three  gravestones  with  their  inscriptions  are  the  first 
to  be  sought  by  the  traveller  as  he  enters  this  serene  en- 
closure on  the  meadows.  In  near  neighborhood  are  the 
graves  of  Ensign  and  Hannah  Sheldon.  In  a  corner  of  the 
yard  is  the  mound  beneath  which  was  the  common  grave 
of  the  victims  of  the  Sack,  marked  "The  Dead  of  1704." 

In  Memorial  Hall  are  displayed  against  the  walls  of  an 
upper  room  inscribed  tablets  commemorating  each  of  the 
captives  of  1704.  In  the  library  of  the  Pocumtuck  Memo- 
rial Association,  housed  in  other  rooms,  is  preserved  the 
manuscript  of  Stephen  Williams's  journal  of  the  march  of 
the  captives. 


XV 

Upper  River  Settlement 

Northfield  the  Outpost  in  1714  —  Fort  Dummer  at  the  present  Brattleborough 
The  Pioneer  Upper  Valley  Town  —  The  "Equivalent  Lands"  — "Num- 
ber 4"  at  the  present  Charlestowu  —  Father  Rale's  War —  Gray  Lock  — 
Scouting-parties  of  River  Men  —  Chronicles  of  their  bold  Adventures  up 
the  Valley  —  Schemes  for  new  Townships  —  The  "  Indian  Road  "  —  Six  Up- 
river  Town  Grants  —  The  Massachusetts-New  Hampshire  Boundary  Dis- 
pute—  The  Old  French  War  —  Abandonment  of  the  new  Plantations  — 
Heroic  Defence  of  "  Number  4  "  — Story  of  a  Remarkable  Siege. 

THE  plantations  in  the  Valley  above  the  north  Massa- 
chusetts line  were  few  and  precarious  till  the  close  of 
the  last  French  and  Indian  War  with  the  conquest  of 
Canada  in  1760.  None  in  the  region  was  attempted  till 
after  Father  Ralle's  (or  Rale's)  War  of  1722-1725.  At 
the  end  of  Queen  Anne's  War  there  was  no  English  lodg- 
ment on  the  River  beyond  Greenfield,  then  Green  River 
Farms,  a  district  of  Deerfield.  The  following  year,  1714, 
Northfield,  now  permanently  reestablished,  became  the 
frontier  town.  Its  territory  at  this  time  extended  above 
the  present  Massachusetts  line,  and  embraced  parts  of 
Hinsdale  and  Winchester,  now  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
Vernon  over  the  Vermont  border.  With  its  forts  and 
fortified  houses  it  remained  a  strategic  point  of  impor- 
tance through  the  succeeding  border  wars.  During  Father 
Rale's  War  the  English  military  outpost  was  advanced  up 
the  west  side  of  the  River  above  Northfield  with  the  erec- 
tion of  Fort  Dummer  at  what  is  now  Brattleborough,  Ver- 
mont.    With  the  close  of  that  war  Fort  Dummer  became 

198 


Upper  River  Settlement  199 

a  truck-house  for  trading  with  the  again  peaceful  Indians 
coming  down  from  Canada,  and  soon  a  slender  settlement, 
mostly  of  traders,  grew  up  about  it.  This  was  the  pioneer 
settlement  of  the  Upper  Valley.  It  was  the  nucleus  of 
Brattleborough,  chartered  and  named  some  years  later, 
the  first  English  township  in  what  is  now  Vermont.  It 
remained  the  only  Upper  Valley  settlement  till  or  about 
1740. 

Fort  Dummer  was  erected  by  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts, which  then  claimed  jurisdiction  northward  up  the 
River  forty  miles  above  the  present  state  line,  eastward 
as  far  as  the  Merrimack  River,  and  due  west  indefinitely. 
The  fort  was  designed  for  the  protection  of  all  the  north- 
western frontiers  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  It 
was  ordered  at  first  to  be  garrisoned  by  "  forty  able  men, 
English  and  Western  Indians,"  friendly  Mohawks.  They 
were  to  be  employed  in  scouting  up  the  River  and  its 
tributaries  Canada-ward,  and  easterly  above  Great  Monad- 
nock,  to  sight  the  enemy  approaching  any  of  the  frontier 
towns.  The  fort  was  placed  on  a  section  of  the  "  Equiva- 
lent Lands  "  above  Northfield,  which  extended  along  the 
west  bank  of  the  River  between  the  present  limits  of 
Brattleborough,  Dummerston,  and  Putney.  The  "  Equiva- 
lent Lands  "  comprised  four  parcels  of  unoccupied  tracts 
in  different  localities,  one  hundred  and  seven  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-three  acres  in  all,  that  Massachu- 
setts had  transferred  to  Connecticut  when  the  boundaries 
between  these  two  colonies  were  determined  in  1713,  as  an 
"  equivalent  "  for  certain  townships  (among  them  Enfield 
and  Suffield  on  the  River)  previously  in  the  Massachusetts 
jurisdiction,  but  falling  southward  of  the  defined  line,  which 
Connecticut  granted  to  remain  with  Massachusetts.  Thirty 
years  after,  these  townships,  complaining  of  Massachusetts 


200  Connecticut  River 

taxation  and  assuming  to  have  been  originally  within  the 
Connecticut  charter,  again  shifted  to  Connecticut  of  their 
own  motion.  Shortly  after  the  acquisition  of  the  "  Equiva- 
lent Lands,"  or  in  1716,  Connecticut  sold  them  in  a 
lump  at  public  vendue  in  Hartford  and  gave  the  proceeds 
to  Yale  College.  They  were  bid  off  by  a  group  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  and  London  capitalists,  who  got 
them  for  a  little  more  than  a  farthing  an  acre.  The  pur- 
chasers making  a  partition  of  the  lands  the  parcel  above 
Northfield  fell  to  four  Massachusetts  men.  These  were 
William  Dummer,  then  lieutenant-governor  and  acting- 
governor  of  the  province,  William  Brattle  of  Cambridge, 
and  Anthony  Stoddard  and  John  White  of  Boston.  Hence 
the  name  of  the  fort  for  the  lieutenant-governor,  and  of 
the  township,  subsequently  established,  for  the  Cambridge 
nabob. 

The  site  selected  for  Fort  Dummer  is  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Brattleborough,  and  the  locality  is  still 
known  as  Dummer  Meadow.  It  was  built  under  the 
supervision  of  Colonel  John  Stoddard  of  Northampton, 
Parson  Stoddard's  son,  the  soldier  who  was  in  Parson 
Williams's  house  at  the  time  of  the  Sack  of  Deerfield. 
Lieutenant  Timothy  Dwight,  also  of  Northampton,  later 
a  judge,  the  ancestor  of  President  Timothy  Dwight  of  Yale, 
had  immediate  charge  of  the  work  ;  and  he  was  the  fort's 
first  commander.  It  was  constructed  of  hewn  yellow  pine 
timber,  which  then  grew  in  great  abundance  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, laid  horizontally  nearly  in  a  square.  The  longest 
side  was  presented  to  the  north.  Within,  built  against 
its  walls,  were  the  "province  houses,"  the  habitations  of 
the  garrison  and  other  inmates.  Its  equipment  comprised 
four  "  patereros,"  light  pieces  of  ordnance  mounted  on 
swivels,  with   small   arms   for   the  garrison.     It   had  a 


Upper  River  Settlement  201 

"  great  gun,"  but  this  was  used  only  for  signals  to  summon 
aid  or  to  announce  good  tidings.  It  was  a  stout  structure, 
and  believed  to  be  proof  against  ordinary  assault.  But  in 
October  following  its  completion  (1724)  it  was  attacked  by 
a  band  of  seventy  Indians  and  four  or  five  of  the  garrison 
were  kiUed  or  wounded.  Subsequently  a  stockade  was 
built  about  it  composed  of  square  timbers  twelve  feet  long- 
set  upright  in  the  ground.  The  stockade  inclosed  an  acre 
and  a  half  of  ground.  This  fort,  with  "  No.  4,"  later 
erected  up  the  River  at  Charlestown,  New  Hampshire  side, 
was  the  chief  northern  military  outpost  till  the  conquest 
of  Canada. 

Father  Rale's  War,  though  mainly  a  rising  of  the 
tribes  east  of  the  Merrimack,  and  in  the  province  of  Maine, 
led  by  the  Jesuit  enthusiast  and  backed  by  the  French 
Governor  de  Vaudreuil,  broke  into  the  Valley  in  side 
assaults  by  Canadian  Indians  incited  by  De  Vaudreuil's 
emissaries.  All  the  towns  in  the  Massachusetts  Reach 
were  imperilled,  and  deadly  assaults  by  small  bands  from 
ambuscade  upon  workers  in  the  fields  were  frequent.  It 
was  the  method  of  this  enemy  to  come  stealthily  down  the 
River  in  considerable  numbers,  and  make  camps  at  conven- 
ient and  secluded  spots  near  the  towns.  Thence  spies 
would  be  sent  out,  and  upon  their  reports  of  unguarded 
points,  small  bands  would  issue  forth  to  take  scalps  and 
captives.  In  one  of  his  reports  Colonel  Samuel  Partridge 
of  Hatfield,  then  the  rugged  military  commander  in  the 
Massachusetts  Reach,  though  bearing  a  weight  of  seventy- 
eight  years,  wrote,  '^  the  enemy  can  and  sometimes  do  lie 
in  wait  two  months  about  a  town  before  they  kill  or  take, 
as  some  of  them  have  acknowledged."  They  were  Indians 
of  the  St.  Francis  tribes  living  at  the  confluence  of  the  St. 
Francis  and  St.  Lawrence  Rivers,  and  the  Caughnawagas 


202  Connecticut  River 

established  near  the  northerly  end  of  Lake  Champlain. 
The  leader  of  their  most  daring  expeditions  was  Gray  Lock, 
so  called  from  the  color  of  his  hair,  whose  name  survives 
in  the  majestic  Graylock  mount  of  the  Berkshire  Hills,  in 
North  Adams.  Gray  Lock  was  an  old  Warranoke  chief  who, 
previous  to  King  Philip's  War,  had  lived  on  the  Agawam 
(Westfield)  River.  Upon  the  dispersion  of  the  tribe  he 
had  gone  to  the  Mohawk  country.  He  was  well  known 
to  all  the  River  towns  as  a  wily  warrior.  Now  an  old 
man,  he  is  pictured  as  noble  in  aspect  like  the  height  that 
bears  his  name.  At  this  time  his  seat  was  on  the  shore 
of  Missisquoi  Bay,  where  he  had  erected  a  fort  and  had 
collected  numerous  followers.  After  the  war  had  opened, 
Governor  Dummer  and  the  captains  of  the  Valley  had 
endeavored  with  gifts  to  win  him  and  some  of  the  Caughna- 
waga  chiefs  to  the  English  side.  But  they  were  too  late. 
The  French  had  got  their  presents  in  first.  Gray  Lock  him- 
self managed  to  dodge  the  English  messengers,  always 
happening  to  be  away  from  his  camp  when  they  called. 
He  took  the  war-path  in  the  summer  of  1723,  and  he  was 
the  terror  of  the  Valley  to  the  end. 

To  head  off  Gray  Lock's  and  other  expeditions,  and  to 
watch  and  ward  the  north  and  western  frontiers  while  the 
main  theatre  of  hostilities  was  kept  in  the  eastern  country, 
was  the  part  of  the  Valley  towns  in  this  war.  Accordingly 
the  chief  operations  were  those  of  scouting  parties  into 
which  many  of  their  lusty  young  men  were  pressed.  The 
chronicles  of  those  scouting  adventures,  in  the  terse  jour- 
nals of  the  leaders,  furnish  fine  material  for  colonial 
romances.  They  tell  of  silent  marches  through  the  un- 
broken wilderness,  along  treacherous  Indian  trails  ;  of  win- 
ter travelling  over  the  ice  of  the  River  or  along  the  forest 
paths  on  snowshoes,  constantly  apprehensive  of  Indian 


3 

'en 


o 
S 

> 


o 
W 

X 

O 


o 


Upper  River  Settlement  203 

ambuscades ;  of  magnificent  endurance,  courage,  and  nerve. 
While,  acquainting  themselves  with  the  region,  these  men 
marked  the  way  for  the  plantations  that  eventually  followed. 
Much  of  the  scouting  was  in  the  woods  and  over  the 
heights  between  Northfield  and  Bellows  Falls  on  both  sides 
of  the  River ;  and  in  this  reach  the  pioneer  Upper  Valley 
settlements  were  afterward  attempted.  But  several  parties 
of  rangers  penetrated  the  Valley  far  above  into  the  rich 
Coos  country.  More  than  one  crossed  to  Lake  Champlain, 
and  pushed  close  to  the  Canadian  borders.  The  leaders 
had  thus  early  become  familiar  with  the  various  northern 
trails  through  previous  expeditions.  Chief  among  them, 
by  virtue  of  age  and  experience,  was  Captain  Benjamiu 
Wright  of  Northfield.  He  had  done  bold  work  along 
these  trails  in  Queen  Anne's  War.  The  son  of  one  of  the 
settlers  from  Northampton  killed  at  the  destruction  of 
Northfield  in  Philip's  War,  he  had  been  a  mortal  enemy 
of  the  savages  from  that  time,  when  he  was  a  boy  of 
fifteen.  He  was  the  first  of  English  scouts  to  lead  a  "  war- 
party  "  up  to  the  Indian  rendezvous  of  Cowass  on  the 
Great  Ox  Bow  in  Newbury,  Vermont.  That  was  in  1708, 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  the  "war-party"  comprising  a  few 
Deerfield  men  and  friendly  Indians  travelling  on  snow- 
shoes.  It  was  an  expedition  to  discover  the  rendezvous 
and  the  plans  of  "  hostiles  "  supposed  to  be  in  force  there. 
It  failed  in  the  latter  respect,  for  when  the  place  was 
reached  the  Indians  had  flown.  The  expedition  of  Caleb 
Lyman  of  Northampton,  in  the  summer  after  the  Sack  of 
Deerfield,  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  was  an  attempt 
to  discover  the  same  rendezvous,  but  L^nnan  fell  short  of 
the  goal  by  about  twenty  miles.  By  the  summer  of  1709 
Captain  Wright  had  advanced  his  scouts  to  within  forty 
miles  of  Chambly.     In  the  last  summer  of  Father  Rale's 


204  Connecticut  River 

War  he  headed  a  band  of  volunteers  who  penetrated  the 
wilderness  farther  than  any  previous  English  force  had 
reached.  Captain  Thomas  Wells  of  Deerfield  was  another 
of  the  veteran  scouts  of  this  war  who  led  bands  of  savages 
far  up  the  Valley.  In  the  spring  of  1725  he  reached  the 
Canadian  frontiers  with  a  company  hastily  recruited  from 
Deerfield,  Hatfield,  and  Northampton.  Making  note  of  its 
richness  in  passing,  he  afterward  profited  as  a  proprietor 
in  one  of  the  new  townships. 

But  the  most  effective  work,  in  that  it  opened  the 
region  that  first  was  settled,  was  accomplished  by  the  scouts 
sent  out  from  Fort  Dummer,  who  ranged  the  country 
systematically  between  Northfield  and  the  "  Great  Falls," 

—  the  Bellows  Falls  of  to-day.  These  rangers  were  mainly 
directed  by  Captain  Josiah  Kellogg,  then  commander  at 
Northfield.  He  was  a  returned  Deerfield  captive,  experi- 
enced in  the  ways  of  the  Canadian  Indians  from  having 
lived  their  savage  life.  When  captiu-ed  at  the  Sack  of 
Deerfield  he  was  a  boy  of  fourteen  (native  of  Hadley), 
and  in  the  distribution  of  captives  he  fell  to  a  Macqua 
who  took  him  for  his  own.  He  lived  the  free  forest 
}ife  for  ten  years,  acquiring  meanwhile,  with  the  skill  of 
the  hunter  and  trapper,  a  know^ledge  of  French  and  of 
the  language  spoken  by  the  northern  tribes  and  by  the 
Mohawks.  Thus  after  his  return  to  civilization  he  became 
of  great  value  to  the  colonial  leaders  as  an  interpreter  in 
their  Indian  councils.  From  the  time  of  his  return  to  his 
death  in  1757  he  was  almost  constantly  employed  in  pub- 
lic service  on  the  frontiers.  The  journals  of  his  scouting 
bands  sent  out  in  the  winter  of  1724-25  tell  their  story 
with  vividness  and  brevity.     Some  scaled  the  mountains 

—  the  wild  Wantastequat,  opposite  Brattleborough,  and 
Kilburn  Peak  by  Bellows  Falls  —  and  spent  long  winter 


Upper  River  Settlement  205 

nights  on  the  summits  "  to  view  morning  and  evening  for 
smoakes  "  of  the  enemy.  Others  scoured  the  woods  on 
both  sides  of  the  River,  crossing  below  the  Falls  and  mak- 
ing a  circuit  of  the  country.  Others  pushed  up  West  River, 
then  steering  northward,  struck  Saxton's  River  and  fol- 
lowed that  stream  to  its  mouth  in  the  Connecticut. 

The  scouting  was  kept  up  for  a  while  after  the  close  of 
Father  Rale's  War  with  ''  Lovewell's  Fight "  at  what  is 
now  Fryeburg,  Maine,  and  the  death  of  De  Yaudreuil  in 
Canada,  which  "broke  the  mainspring"  of  the  Indian 
campaign.  Vigilance  in  the  Valley  was  still  necessary,  for 
Gray  Lock  continued  on  the  warpath,  he  having  refused  to 
join  in  the  treaty  of  peace  with  the  Eastern  Indians. 
Sometime  in  1726  he  was  actually  on  the  way  with  a  hos- 
tile party,  which  he  had  collected  about  Otter  Creek,  to 
fall  upon  the  River  towns.  He  expected  to  catch  them 
unguarded,  and  was  tiu-ned  aside  only  by  word  from  his 
scouts  that  a  fighting  force  yet  remained  at  Fort  Dummer. 
Meanwhile,  however,  movements  for  new  settlements 
had  already  begim.  Quick  upon  the  ratification  of  peace 
petitions  for  grants  of  lands  above  the  northern  and  west- 
ern frontiers  showered  upon  the  General  Court  at  Boston ; 
and  soon  the  government  was  moving  to  establish  new 
townships.  First  the  Court  made  provision  for  a  "  careful 
view  and  survey"  of  lands  between  Northfield  on  the  Con- 
necticut and  Dunstable  (Nashua,  New  Hampshire),  on  the 
Merrimack,  ten  miles  in  width,  preliminary  to  marking  out 
townships.  A  scheme  at  this  time  contemplated  three 
lines  of  townships,  "  in  a  straight  and  direct  course,"  one 
up  the  Connecticut,  one  up  the  Merrimack,  and  the  third 
in  the  Eastern  country,  or  Maine,  between  the  Newicha- 
wannock  (part  of  the  Piscataqua  River)  at  Berwick,  and 
Portland,  then  Falmouth.    The  survivors  of  the  Indian  wars 


206  Connecticut  River 

and  the  families  or  heirs  of  those  that  had  fallen  were  to 
have  first  preference  in  land  grants  issued.  In  January 
1727-8,  the  Court  authorized  an  exploration  of  the  region 
between  the  northern  frontiers  and  Canada.  One  party 
was  "  to  march  up  the  Connecticut  River  to  a  branch 
thereof  called  Amonusock  [the  Ammonoosuc]  and  up  the 
same,  and  round  the  White  Hills,  and  down  Androscoggin 
River  to  Falmouth,  observing  the  distance  of  rivers,  ponds, 
and  hills."  Another  party  was  to  discover  the  country 
between  the  Connecticut  and  Lake  Champlain.  Later, 
traders  explored  the  "  Indian  Road,"  —  by  way  of  the  Con- 
necticut, Black  River  at  the  present  Springfield,  Vermont 
side,  Otter  Creek,  and  Lake  Champlain,  —  the  route  usually 
taken  by  the  Indians  coming  down  from  the  north  to  the 
Truck  House  at  Fort  Dummer.  The  diary  of  a  journey 
made  in  1730  by  one  of  these  traders,  —  James  Cross  of 
Deerfield,  —  describing  the  course  of  this  Road  and  the 
country  about  it,  was  laid  before  the  government.  The 
messages  of  the  Massachusetts  governor,  now  Belcher, 
repeatedly  urged  measures  to  advance  the  settlement  of 
ungranted  lands.  At  one  time  he  advised  the  employment 
of  "  a  good  number  of  hunters  "  to  travel  the  woods  on  the 
frontiers  and  so  gain  a  knowledge  of  them  that  would  con- 
tribute to  the  future  quiet  of  the  country. 

But  the  plan  for  lines  of  towns  northward  moved 
slowly.  The  Council  non-concurred  with  the  House  in  some 
of  the  details  upon  its  periodical  appearances  through  sev- 
eral years.  In  the  interim  a  few  grants  were  issued  to 
individuals,  soldiers  and  others ;  and  to  petitioners  for  town- 
ships close  to  the  established  frontier  towns.  Two  of  these 
township  grants  were  in  the  Valley.  One  was  issued  in 
1732,  to  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  afterward  commander  at 
Fort   Dummer,    and   sixty  associates,  for   what   became 


Upper  River  Settlement  207 

Winchester,  east  of  Hinsdale,  New  Hampshire  side.  The 
other,  given  out  in  1734,  went  to  the  survivors  and  heirs 
of  the  dead  of  Captain  Turner's  company  in  the  "Falls 
Fight"  (Turner's  Falls)  of  1676,  for  the  establishment  of 
"  Falls  Fight  Township,"  which  evolved  into  Fallstown,  and 
ultimately  Bemardston  (for  Governor  Bernard),  west  of 
Northfield. 

At  length,  in  January,  1735-6,  the  Court  and  Council 
came  to  an  agreement  for  a  line  of  towns  between  the 
Merrimack  and  the  Connecticut  and  set  the  machinery  in 
motion  to  carry  out  this  project.  A  survey  was  ordered  of 
the  lands  between  the  two  rivers  from  Rumford  (now  Con- 
cord, New  Hampshire)  to  the  Great  Falls  (Bellows  Falls), 
twelve  miles  broad,  or  north  and  south ;  and  provision  was 
made  for  the  distribution  of  this  territory  into  townships  of 
the  then  regulation  size  of  six  miles  square.  Also,  the  lands 
bordering  the  Connecticut  south  of  Bellows  Falls,  on  the 
east  side  to  Colonel  Willard's  town  (the  later  Winchester), 
and  on  the  west  side  to  the  "  Equivalent  Lands,"  were  to 
be  resolved  into  similar  townships.  The  result  of  these 
measures  was  the  plotting  of  twenty-eight  townships  be- 
tween the  two  rivers ;  and  two  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Connecticut.  In  November,  1763,  at  a  meeting  of  peti- 
tioners for  grants,  called  to  assemble  in  Concord,  Massachu- 
setts, grantees  were  admitted  to  four  plotted  townships  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Connecticut  and  two  on  the  west  side, 
designated  by  numbers,  those  on  the  east  side  being  num- 
bered in  sequence  going  up  stream,  and  those  on  the  west 
side,  going  down  stream.  The  next  step  was  taken  a  month 
later  when  a  grantee  in  each  group  was  appointed  to  caU 
first  meetings  of  the  several  proprietors  for  organization. 
Thomas  Wells  of  Deerfield  was  named  to  organize  the  pro- 
prietors of  Number  4,  the  uppermost  east  side  township. 


208  Connecticut  River 

amonor  whom  were  several  other  Deerfield  men,  and  their 
first  meetings  were  held  in  Hatfield.  The  others  generally 
met  in  eastern  Massachusetts.  Number  1  west  side  was 
organized  in  Taunton. 

Thiis  were  started,  but  not  yet  settled,  the  up-river 
townships  that  became  Chesterfield,  Westmoreland,  Wal- 
pole,  and  Charlestown  on  the  New  Hampshire  side ;  and 
Westminster  and  Putney  on  the  Vermont  side.  The  terms 
upon  which  these  and  other  township  grants  were  made 
are  interesting  to  recall.  Each  grantee  was  required  to 
give  bonds  in  forty  pounds  as  secm-ity  for  the  performance 
of  the  conditions  named.  The  grantees  were  to  build  •*  a 
dwelling-house  eighteen  feet  square  and  seven  feet  stud  at 
the  least  on  their  respective  house-lots ;  fence  in  or  break 
up  for  plowing,  or  clear,  and  stock  with  English  grass,  five 
acres  of  land ;  and  cause  their  respective  lots  to  be  inhabit- 
ed within  three  years  from  the  date  of  their  admittance." 
Also  within  the  same  time  they  were  required  to  '•'  build 
and  finish  a  convenient  meeting-house  for  the  public  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  settle  a  learned  orthodox  minister."  Each 
township  was  divided  into  sixty-three  rights :  sixty  for 
the  settlers,  and  the  other  three,  one  for  the  first  settled 
minister,  one  for  the  second  settled  minister,  and  the  third 
for  a  school. 

Scarcely  a  foothold  had  been  effected  in  these  new 
River  townships  when  the  climax  of  the  boundary  dispute 
between  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  was  reached 
by  the  king's  decree  which  shifted  them  all  outside  the 
jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  and  made  necessary  readjust- 
ment of  the  titles.  By  this  decree,  March  5,  1739-40, 
which  established  the  line  as  it  now  runs,  Massachusetts 
lost  all  of  the  new  townships  marked  out  between  the  two 
rivers,  and  on  either  side  of  the  Connecticut  above  North- 


Upper  River  Settlement  209 

field,  together  with  a  large  amoimt  of  unoccupied  land 
that  lay  intermixed,  and  a  vast  tract  on  the  west  side  of 
our  River.  New  Hampshire  on  the  other  hand  was  given 
a  far  greater  domain  than  she  had  ever  claimed,  her  new 
bounds  embracing  a  territory  more  than  fifty  miles  in 
length,  and  extending  due  west,  above  the  new  north 
Massachusetts  line,  to  "  his  majesty's  other  governments," 
which  was  assumed  to  take  in  all  of  the  present  Vermont, 
and  northward  to  the  province  of  Quebec.  Then  the  royal 
province  of  New  Hampshire  was  reinstated  under  its  own 
governor,  and  in  July,  1741,  Benning  Wentworth,  son  of 
the  previous  Lieutenant-Governor  Wentworth,  and  an 
opulent  merchant  of  Portsmouth,  received  the  king's  com- 
mission as  governor-in-chief,  empowered  to  grant  town- 
ships, in  the  king's  name,  in  the  new  territory  which  the 
province  had  acquired. 

For  a  few  years  after  the  shifting  of  jurisdiction  the 
proprietors  of  the  new  River  townships  continued  under 
their  Massachusetts  charters,  while  little  groups  of  settlers 
ventured  on  their  lands.  In  1740,  at  about  the  time  of 
the  boundary  decision,  three  families  from  Lunenburg, 
north  of  Lancaster,  Massachusetts,  toiled  up  the  River 
with  their  supplies  and  began  the  east-side  settlement  of 
Number  4,  which  became  Charlestown.  The  next  year, 
John  Kilbiu-n,  originally  of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  left 
Northfield  with  his  family,  and  started  the  plantation 
which  became  Walpole.  Not  long  after,  a  pioneer  was  at 
Nimiber  1,  —  Chesterfield.  He  planted,  perhaps,  near  a 
preserve  of  five  hundi-ed  acres  granted  to  Governor  Bel- 
cher in  1732,  partly  in  the  limits  of  this  township,  and 
embracing  West  Mountain,  or  Wantastequat,  and  long 
after  known  as  "  The  Governor's  Farm."  In  1741,  also, 
a  family  or  two  had  moved  up  from  Northfield  to  Number 


210  Connecticut  River 

1  on  the  west  side, — Westminster, — where  was  akeady 
one  rough  log-house  set  up  by  pioneers  two  years  earlier. 
By  1742  a  few  families  from  Lancaster  and  Grafton,  in 
central  Massachusetts,  had  made  a  clearing  on  "  Great 
Meadow"  in  Putney,  beside  the  "Equivalent  Lands,"  and 
had  here  built  a  fort. 

Then,  in  1744,  after  eighteen  years  of  comparative 
security  and  quiet,  the  Indians  were  again  on  the  war-path 
with  the  outbreak  of  the  "Old  French  War,"  or  "Cape 
Breton  War"  (1744-1748),  and  most  of  these  settlements 
were  abandoned,  the  settlers  falling  back  to  the  refuge  of 
Fort  Dummer  and  of  fortified  Northfield.  There  now  re- 
mained above  Fort  Dummer  on  the  west  side  only  the  small 
fort  on  Putney  Meadows;  and  on  the  east  side,  Kilburn's 
slender  holding,  together  with  a  fortified  block-house  at 
Walpole ;  and  the  remote  settlement  of  a  few  families  at 
Number  4  with  a  fort  erected  the  previous  year. 

The  brunt  of  the  enemy's  raids  down  the  Valley  in  this 
four-years'  war  was  sustained  by  Number  4  as  the  outer- 
most post ;  but,  as  in  the  previous  war,  the  older  towns  of 
the  Massachusetts  Reach  suffered  much  from  the  stealthy 
foe.  As  before,  many  of  the  heads  of  families  were  drawn 
from  their  regular  occupations  for  defensive  work  or  for 
army  service,  and  many  of  the  lusty  young  men  exchanged 
the  prosy  toil  of  the  farm  and  field  for  hazardous  but 
exhilarating  and  promisingly  profitable  adventure,  —  for 
large  bounties  were  offered  for  captives  and  scalps,  —  with 
ranging  parties  in  the  Wilderness.  The  war  opened  with 
the  Valley  gravely  exposed,  since  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire  were  at  strife  growing  out  of  the  botmdary 
matter,  and  union  of  action  in  protecting  the  River  fron- 
tiers  was    impossible.     New  Hampshire,  indeed,  bluntly 


Site  of  the  Historic  Fort  "  No.  4,"  of  the  French  and 
Indian  Wars,  Charlestown. 


Upper  River  Settlement  211 

refused  to  take  over  the  charge  of  the  forts  which  had  come 
into  her  jurisdiction,  and  would  make  no  move  to  protect 
the  River  settlements  above  the  new  boundary  line.  "  The 
people  "  here,  her  Assembly  declared,  "  had  no  right  to 
the  lands  which  by  the  dividing  line  had  fallen  within 
New  Hampshire."  There  was  no  danger,  the  Assembly 
concluded,  and  shrewdly,  that  the  forts  would  want  sup- 
port, since  it  was  certainly  "  the  interest  of  Massachusetts, 
by  whom  they  were  erected,  to  maintain  them  as  a  cover 
to  her  frontiers." 

The  Indians  who  now  again  took  the  war-path  were 
fully  acquainted  with  the  condition  of  affairs.  They  were 
aware  of  the  state  of  the  forts ;  knew  the  lay  of  the  towns 
with  their  farms  and  fields,  and  the  customs  of  the  English. 
Those  who  had  come  down  to  trade  at  the  Fort  Dummer 
Truck  House  had  been  free  to  hunt  and  to  rove  at  pleasure. 
"  They  lived  in  all  the  towns  and  went  in  and  out  of  the 
houses  of  the  settlers,  often  sleeping  at  night  by  the 
kitchen  fire."  At  the  Truck  House  six  Indian  commis- 
sioners from  the  northern  tribes  had  been  maintained  by 
the  Massachusetts  government  for  ten  years,  receiving 
regular  pay  and  rations.  At  the  first  threatening  note  of 
war  they  suddenly  left. 

Fort  Dummer,  however,  happened  to  be  in  good  con- 
dition, and  the  defences  at  Northfield  were  soon  strength- 
ened. In  addition  to  these  a  cordon  of  forts  was  erected 
from  Fort  Dummer  over  the  mountains  to  the  New  York 
line.  Of  this  series  Fort  Shirley  in  Heath,  Fort  Pelham 
in  Howe,  and  Fort  Massachusetts  in  Adams  (then  East 
Hoosick),  scant  settlements  along  the  north  Massachusetts 
line  westward,  were  built  by  the  province  of  Massachusetts. 
Others  completing  the  chain,  fortified  block-houses,  in 
Vernon  (then  part  of  Northfield),  Bernardston  (Falltown), 


212  Connecticut  River 

Colerain,  and  Charlemont,  were  erected  at  town  or  indi- 
vidual charge.  At  Greenfield  and  Deerfield  new  defences 
were  also  set  up,  or  old  ones  strengthened,  when  "  mounts," 
towers  for  watch-boxes,  were  ordered  built  on  the  fortified 
houses.  Fort  Dummer  and  Fort  Massachusetts  stood  out 
the  strongest  posts  on  this  part  of  the  frontier ;  whereas, 
between  Fort  Dummer  and  Number  4,  thirty  miles  up  the 
River,  there  remained  only  the  slight  structure  at  Putney. 
On  the  east  side,  at  Keene,  then  Upper  Ashuelot,  east  of 
Westmoreland,  were  also  some  slight  defences.  Colonel 
John  Stoddard  of  Northampton  was  again  at  the  front, 
charged  now  with  the  general  superintendence  of  the 
defence  of  these  frontiers,  with  Colonel  Israel  Williams  of 
Hatfield  as  second  ofiicer.  The  headquarters  of  command 
were  at  Northampton  and  Hatfield,  and  Northfield  was 
the  depot  of  stores  and  headquarters  of  service,  soldiers 
rendezvousing  here,  with  scouting  and  ranging  parties. 
Captain  Josiah  Willard  was  in  charge  of  Fort  Dummer, 
and  Captain  Phinehas  Stevens  was  early  at  Number  4. 
Captain  Stevens  became  the  "  hero  of  Number  4  "  in  this 
war.  He  was  a  soldier  of  exceptional  skill,  fertile  in  re- 
sources, and  was  familiar  with  the  methods  of  Indian  war- 
fare, for  he  had  been  in  his  youth  a  captive  among  the 
St.  Francis  tribe,  taken  with  a  brother,  at  Rutland,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  Gray  Lock's  first  raid  of  Father  Rale's  War. 

Number  4  was  now  a  plantation  of  nine  or  ten  families 
living  in  log  houses  grouped  near  together  for  mutual  pro- 
tection. Before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  quite  a  number 
of  Indians  were  here  in  friendly  association  with  the  set- 
tlers. They  had  taken  part  in  the  festivities  at  the  erection 
of  the  first  saw-mill  when  all  the  inhabitants  had  a  dance 
on  the  first  boards  that  were  sawn  at  the  mill.  With  the 
opening  of  hostilities  they  disappeared,  but  were  known  to 


Upper  River  Settlement  213 

be  lurking  in  the  neighborhood  ready  to  swoop  upon  the 
settlement  at  the  first  opportunity,  or  to  join  attacking  forces 
coming  down  from  the  north.  The  surrounding  country 
was  "  terribly  wild,"  with  no  English  posts  of  consequence 
nearer  than  Fort  Dummer  and  the  settlements  on  the 
Merrimack  thirty-three  miles  off  as  the  crow  flies.  Still 
during  the  first  year  the  place  escaped  molestation,  while 
the  handful  of  townspeople  held  the  fort,  and  scouting 
parties  from  down  river  occasionally  ranged  the  region 
about  it.  The  few  depredations  of  that  year  were  com- 
mitted lower  in  the  Valley,  the  single  tragic  one  at  the 
Putney  fort,  when  one  Englishman  was  taken  captive,  and 
another,  coming  down  the  River  in  a  canoe,  was  slain. 

But  in  the  spring  of  the  second  year,  1746,  when  the 
French  planned  the  destruction  of  the  frontier  forts  w^hile 
the  English  were  mainly  engrossed  in  the  invasion  of  Can- 
ada, Number  4's  tribulations  began.  Late  in  March  Cap- 
tain Phinehas  Stevens,  having  been  employed  in  other 
parts,  returned  with  forty-nine  men  to  save  the  fort  from 
falling  into  the  enemy's  hands ;  and  arrived  just  in  time, 
for  a  force  of  French  and  Indians  under  Ensign  De  Niver- 
ville  was  then  close  upon  it.  On  the  19th  of  April  a  few 
of  De  Niverville's  Indians,  watching  the  settlement  from 
ambush,  waylaid  three  men  on  their  way  to  the  grist-mill 
with  a  team  of  four  oxen,  burnt  the  mill,  and  capturing  the 
men  marched  them  off  to  Canada.  Others  of  De  Niver- 
ville's red  men  hovered  about  the  place  for  some  time,  mak- 
ing no  open  attack,  but  constantly  harassing  the  settlers 
and  soldiers.  One  morning  in  May  several  women  going  to 
milk  the  cows,  under  the  protection  of  a  guard,  were  at- 
tacked by  eight  of  them  concealed  in  a  barn,  and  one  of 
the  guard,  Seth  Putnam,  was  killed.  As  the  Indians  were 
scalping  their  victim  the  guard  rallied  and  routed  them. 


214  Connecticut  River 

A  few  days  after,  twenty  of  a  troop  of  horse  who  had  arrived 
to  reinforce  the  fort,  loitered  out  to  see  the  place  where  Put- 
nam was  killed,  and  were  caught  in  an  ambush.  Captain 
Stevens  rushed  men  from  the  fort  to  their  aid,  as  they  were 
fighting  against  odds,  when  the  assailants  fled,  but  not  be- 
fore a  number  of  the  troopers  had  been  killed  or  captured. 
In  June  several  of  the  men  of  another  troop  of  horse,  come 
to  relieve  the  first  troop,  also  fell  into  an  ambush  almost 
immediately  upon  their  arrival,  when  in  the  meadows  after 
their  horses.  They  fought  the  foe  off,  however,  without 
serious  hurt.  At  length  in  July  the  fort  was  besieged  for 
two  days.  Through  the  rest  of  the  summer  it  was  blockaded 
and  all  were  obliged  to  take  refuge  within  the  pickets.  So 
close  was  the  investment  that  one  man  incautiously  step- 
ping out  was  killed  within  a  few  feet  of  the  fort.  At  night 
a  soldier  crept  to  this  dead  comrade  with  a  rope,  and  the 
body  was  secretly  drawn  into  the  enclosure  and  buried. 
In  August  the  investing  enemy  destroyed  all  the  horses, 
cattle,  and  hogs  in  the  settlement  and  soon  after  appar- 
ently withdrew. 

In  the  autumn,  weary  with  watching,  and  fearful  of  the 
dangers  of  the  forest  when  winter  set  in,  all  evacuated  the 
place  and  fell  back  to  the  lower  settlements.  Meanwhile 
in  August  an  army  of  eight  hundred  of  the  enemy  under 
General  Rigaud  de  Vaudreuil  (son  of  the  late  Governor  de 
Vaudreuil  and  subsequently  himself  governor)  had  oper- 
ated on  the  lower  frontiers,  taking  Fort  Massachusetts,  after 
which  a  detachment  had  raided  Deerfield  with  a  loss  to 
that  much-enduring  town  of  five  men  killed  and  one  more 
of  the  many  carried  into  captivity. 

Number  4  lay  deserted  till  spring,  when  in  March,  after 
the  snow  had  gone,  Captain  Stevens  again  returned,  now 
with  thirty  rangers.     He  found  the  fort  uninjured  and 


Upper  River  Settlement  215 

received  a  joyous  welcome  from  two  inmates  that  he  en- 
comitered  —  an  old  spaniel  and  a  cat  left  behind  at  the 
evacuation.  Making  things  comfortable  and  strengthening 
the  defences,  he  awaited  developments,  for  attacks  were 
threatened  at  different  points  on  the  frontiers.  Before  the 
close  of  March  Captain  Eleazer  Melvin  of  Northfield, 
famous  among  the  scout  leaders  of  this  war,  came  up 
with  sixty  rangers,  but  they  were  soon  off  on  scouting 
expeditions. 

On  the  4th  of  April  the  enemy  appeared.  It  consisted 
of  a  body  of  trained  French  soldiers  and  Indian  warriors, 
variously  estimated  at  from  four  hundred  to  seven  hundred, 
led  by  General  Dabeline,  an  experienced  captain.  They 
made  an  ambuscade  near  by,  and  their  presence  was  scented 
by  the  dogs  of  the  garrison.  Then  followed  the  siege  of 
which  Captain  Stevens  was  the  hero. 

Rising  from  then-  ambush,  General  Debeline's  men 
began  the  attack  with  a  furious  assault  upon  all  sides  of 
the  fort.  But  Captain  Stevens  and  his  thirty  men  stood 
firm  each  at  his  post,  and  beat  them  back  with  sharp  plays 
of  musketry.  Five  full  days  the  siege  lasted,  and  "  every 
stratagem  which  French  policy  and  Indian  malice  could 
invent  was  practiced  to  reduce  the  garrison,"  but  without 
success.  Says  the  captain's  crisp  report  to  Governor 
Shirley : 

"  The  wind  being  very  high,  and  everything  exceedingly  dry, 
they  set  fire  to  all  the  old  fences,  and  also  to  a  log  house  about  forty 
rods  distant  from  the  fort,  to  the  windward,  so  that  in  a  few  minutes 
we  were  entirely  surrounded  by  fire  —  all  which  was  performed  with 
the  most  hideous  shouting  from  all  quarters,  which  they  continued 
in  the  most  terrible  manner  till  the  next  day  at  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
without  intermission,  and  during  this  time  we  had  no  opportunity 
to  eat  or  to  sleep.  But  notwithstanding  all  these  shoutings  and 
threatenings,  our  men  seemed  to  be  not  in  the  least  daunted,  but 


216  Connecticut  River 

fought  with  great  resolution,  which  undoubtedly  gave  the  enemy 
reason  to  think  that  we  had  determined  to  stand  it  out  to  the  last 
degree." 

Fire-arrows  were  also  discharged,  which  set  several  parts 
of  the  fort  ablaze.  But  some  of  the  soldiers,  while  others 
were  fighting,  had  dug  trenches  at  the  bottom  of  the 
stockade,  and  through  these  they  passed  with  buckets  of 
water  and  extinguished  the  flames.  Eleven  such  trenches 
were  dug,  so  deep  that  a  man  "  could  go  and  stand  up- 
right on  the  outside  and  not  endanger  himself."  Thus 
they  were  enabled  to  wet  all  the  outside  of  the  fort,  and 
keep  it  so,  which  they  did  through  the  five  nights  of  the 
siege.  The  fire-arrows  failing  to  accomplish  their  purpose 
the  besiegers  filled  a  cart  with  fagots,  and  setting  them  on 
fire,  a  number  of  Indians  began  rolling  this  fiery  engine 
toward  the  timbered  structm-e.  Suddenly,  however,  it  was 
checked  in  its  coiu-se,  the  besiegers  calling  a  cessation  of 
hostilities  till  the  next  morning,  proposing  then  to  come 
to  "  parley." 

At  this  parley  General  Debeline  promised  that  if  the 
fort  were  immediately  surrendered  and  the  men  should  lay 
down  their  arms  and  march  out,  they  should  all  have  their 
lives,  and  liberty  to  take  sufficient  quantity  of  provisions 
to  supply  them  on  their  way  as  prisoners  to  Montreal. 
But  before  Captain  Stevens  could  reply  the  French  officer 
broke  in  with  the  threat  that  upon  refusal  he  would  "  imme- 
diately set  the  fort  on  fire  and  run  over  the  top,  for  he  had 
seven  hundred  men  with  him."  "  '  The  fort,'  said  he,  '  I 
am  resolved  to  have  or  die.  Now  do  what  you  please,  for 
I  am  as  easy  to  have  you  fight  as  to  give  up.'  "  This  the 
captain,  undaunted,  met  with  the  quiet  remark  that  inas- 
much as  he  was  sent  here  to  defend  the  fort  it  would  not 
be  consistent  with  his  orders  to  give  it  up  unless  he  was 


Upper  River  Settlement  217 

better  satisfied  that  the  Frenchman  was  able  to  perform 
what  he  had  threatened.  "  Well,"  the  other  retorted,  "  go 
into  the  fort  and  see  whether  your  men  dare  fight  any 
more  or  not,  and  give  me  an  answer  quick,  for  my  men 
want  to  be  fighting."  Without  further  words  the  captain 
did  as  he  was  bid.  Assembling  his  men  he  "  put  it  to  vote 
which  they  chose,  either  to  fight  on  or  resign ;  and  they 
voted  to  a  man  to  stand  it  out  as  long  as  they  had  life." 
So,  the  captain's  report  continues,  "  I  returned  the  answer 
that  we  were  determined  to  fight  it  out.  Then  they  gave 
a  shout,  and  then  fired,  and  so  continued  firing  and  shout- 
ing till  daylight  next  morning." 

At  about  noon  of  this  day  the  last  stage  was  reached. 
Calling  out  "  Good  Morning,"  the  besiegers  advised  a  ces- 
sation of  arms  for  two  hours,  and  another  parley.  Two 
Indians  came  with  a  flag  of  truce  in  place  of  the  com- 
mander. The  proposal  now  was  that  "  in  case  we  would 
sell  them  provisions  they  would  leave  and  not  fight  any 
more."  To  this  the  captain  made  shrewd  answer.  He 
could  not  sell  them  provisions  for  money,  for  that  would 
be  "  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nations  "  ;  but  "  if  they  would 
send  in  a  captive  for  every  five  bushels  of  corn "  he 
"  would  supply  them."  The  messengers  retired  to  report 
to  their  general,  and  pretty  soon  after,  "  four  or  five  guns 
were  fired  at  the  fort  and  they  withdrew,  as  we  supposed, 
for  we  heard  no  more  of  them." 

So  ended  this  remarkable  battle  of  seven  hundred 
against  thirty,  with  the  complete  discomfiture  of  the  seven 
hundred.  Of  the  besiegers  many  were  slain ;  while  the 
besieged  suffered  no  loss  in  killed,  and  but  two  were 
woimded.  The  record  of  their  valorous  defence  reads  like 
a  story  of  prowess  in  the  old  heroic  days.  Said  the  orator 
on  a  commemorative  occasion  in   the  village   that   has 


218  Connecticut  River 

evolved  from  "  Number  4/'  lying  now  "  peacefully  in  its 
fertile  savannahs,"  —  "except  for  that  self-immolation,  I 
cannot  see  that  the  prowess  of  Leonidas  and  his  three 
hundred  is  worthy  of  higher  admiration  than  that  of 
Stevens  and  his  thirty." 

An  "  express  "  carried  the  news  of  the  battle  to  Boston 
with  Captain  Stevens's  report,  which  was  received  with 
high  satisfaction  by  the  governor  and  council.  His  gallant 
defence  also  won  for  the  captain  the  admiration,  expressed 
in  the  gift  of  "  an  elegant "  sword,  of  Sir  Charles  Knowles 
of  the  British  Navy,  then  in  Boston.  In  consideration  of 
Sir  Charles's  generosity  the  knightly  sailor's  name  was 
subsequently  bestowed  upon  the  settlement,  —  as  Charles- 
town.  One  might  without  prejudice  hold  that  the  soldier 
who  saved  the  fort  rather  than  the  knight  who  rewarded 
the  act  was  the  more  entitled  to  this  distinction. 

One  more  attack  was  made  on  Number  4  in  this  war. 
That  was  in  the  spring  of  1748,  after  a  few  of  the  settlers 
had  returned  and  were  living  within  the  stockade  with 
the  soldiers.  The  men  of  the  garrison  were  without  snow- 
shoes,  and  so  helpless  in  pursuit.  This  fact  being  learned 
by  the  enemy,  a  party  of  twenty  Indians  came  down  the 
Valley  in  the  deep  snow  and  ambushed  near  the  fort. 
Their  most  serious  assault  at  this  time  was  upon  a  bunch 
of  eight  men  going  to  the  forest  to  cut  wood.  One  they 
killed,  and  another  they  took  into  captivity.  The  one 
killed  was  a  son  of  Captain  Stevens. 

Indian  depredations  continued  in  the  Valley  for  some 
months  after  the  peace,  reached  in  October,  1748,  but  not 
proclaimed  in  Boston  till  May,  1749.  Notwithstanding 
the  dangers,  however,  the  settlers  were  returning  to  the 
new  townships,  and  by  the  following  year  most  of  them 


Upper  River  Settlement  219 

were  reoccupied,  to  be  held  till  the  renewal  of  hostilities 
four  years  later  in  the  final  French  and  Indian  War. 

In  1751  the  proprietors  of  the  townships  on  the  east 
side  of  the  River  above  Northfield  applied  to  New  Hamp- 
shire for  new  grants  in  place  of  their  Massachusetts  char- 
ters. Accordingly  in  1752  Governor  Benning  Wentworth 
issued  charters  for  Chesterfield,  Westmoreland,  and  Wal- 
pole;  and  for  Charlestown  in  1753.  In  1752,  also,  he 
gave  out  charters  for  Westminster  and  Rockingham  on 
the  west  side;  and  in  1753,  for  Hinsdale,  and  for  the  west 
side  towns  of  Brattleborough,  Dummerston,  and  Putney. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  "New  Hampshire 
Grants." 


XVI 

The  "New  Hampshire  Grants  " 

Governor  Benning  Wentworth's  great  Scheme  of  Colonization  —  Collision  with 
New  York  over  his  Grants  for  Townships  on  the  present  Vermont  Side  of 
the  River  —  Captain  Symes's  Plan  for  laying  out  the  Cobs  Country  killed  by 
Indian  Threats  —  A  great  Powwow  at  "  Number  4"  —  Captain  Powers's 
Exploring  Expedition  —  Interruption  of  Wentworth's  Scheme  by  the  Out- 
break of  the  last  French  and  Indian  War  —  Settlers  again  fall  back  on  the 
Fortified  Places —  The  River  Frontiers  now  Established. 

GOVERNOR  Benning  Wentworth's  scheme  of  coloni- 
zation at  the  outset  contemplated  the  occupation  of 
the  "  Coos  country "  of  the  Upper  Valley,  and  of  the 
domain  on  the  west  side  of  the  River  now  embraced  in 
Vermont.  He  was  stimulated  at  the  close  of  the  Old 
French  War  promptly  to  move  on  the  Coos  lands  through 
apprehension  that  the  French,  who  had  already  begun  to 
encroach  upon  territory  claimed  by  the  British  crown, 
Avould  step  in  and  possess  this  valuable  region.  His 
motive  in  hastening  to  establish  footholds  in  the  country 
west  of  the  River  was  evidently  to  sustain  the  questioned 
extent  of  New  Hampshire's  bounds  westward  to  twenty 
miles  east  of  the  Hudson,  in  line  with  the  west  bounds  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut. 

The  initial  move  was  in  the  western  domain,  when,  in 
January,  1749,  the  governor  made  a  grant  for  a  township 
at  its  tip  end,  which  became  Bennington,  so  called  in  allu- 
sion to  his  own  Christian  name.  This  act  brought  him 
into  quick  collision  with  New  York,  and  then  began  the 
bitter  controversy  over  the  "New  Hampshire    Grants" 

220 


o 


o 
o 


> 


New  Hampshire  Grants  221 

which  lasted  for  forty-two  years  with  its  attendant  troubles 
in  border  towns  on  both  sides  of  the  River. 

The  dispute  opened,  however,  most  politely,  with  a 
diplomatic  correspondence  between  the  governors  of  the 
two  provinces.  This  was  begun  by  Governor  Went  worth 
in  November  following  his  Bennington  grant,  when  he 
acquainted  Governor  Clinton  of  his  commission  from  the 
king  with  his  instructions  to  make  grants  of  the  unim- 
proved lands  within  his  government  to  intending  settlers ; 
and  asked  a  statement  as  to  the  exact  eastward  bound  of 
the  New  York  province,  "  that  he  might  govern  himself 
accordingly."  To  this  Governor  Clinton  replied,  under 
date  of  April,  1750,  with  the  opinion  of  his  council  that 
the  bounds  of  their  province  extended  eastward  quite  to 
the  Connecticut,  citing  in  evidence  the  letters-patent  of 
Charles  II  to  the  Duke  of  York,  which  expressly  granted 
"  all  the  lands  from  the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut  River 
to  the  east  side  of  Delaware  Bay."  Governor  Wentworth 
made  answer,  the  same  April,  that  this  opinion  would  be 
entirely  satisfactory  to  him  "  had  not  the  two  charter 
governments  of  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts-Bay  ex- 
tended their  bounds  many  miles  to  the  westward  of  said 
River."  He  then  announced  that,  in  accordance  with  the 
opinion  of  his  council,  he  had,  before  his  excellency's  letter 
had  come  to  hand,  granted  one  township  in  the  territory 
in  question,  presuming  that  his  government  was  "  bounded 
by  the  same  north  and  south  line  with  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts-Bay  before  it  met  with  his  Majesty's  other 
governments."  With  the  assurance  that  it  was  far  from 
his  desire  "  to  make  the  least  encroachment  or  set  on  foot 
any  dispute  on  these  points,"  he  would  ask  to  be  informed 
by  what  authority  the  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts 
governments  claimed  so  far  to  the  westward  as  they  had 


222  Connecticut  River 

settled.  In  the  meantime  he  should  "  desist  from  making 
any  further  grants  on  the  western  frontier"  of  his  govern- 
ment that  might  have  "  the  least  probability  of  interfering 
with  the  government  of  New  York."  Governor  Clinton 
responded,  in  Jime,  wdth  the  information  that  Connecti- 
cut's claim  was  founded  upon  an  agreement  with  New  York 
in  or  about  the  year  1684,  afterward  confirmed  by  King 
William ;  and  that  Massachusetts  presumably  possessed  itr 
self  of  the  lands  west  of  the  River  "by  intrusion,  and 
through  the  negligence  of  this  government  have  hitherto 
continued  their  possession."  He  expressed  surprise  that 
Governor  Wentworth  had  not  waited  for  his  previous  letter 
before  making  a  grant  in  this  territory,  and  remarked  that 
he  had  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  same  lands  or  part 
of  them,  had  been  already  granted  in  New  York.  If  it 
were  still  in  Governor  Wentworth's  power  to  recall  his  grant 
his  "  doing  so  would  be  a  piece  of  justice  to  the  New  York 
government."  "  Otherwise,"  Governor  Clinton  signifi- 
cantly observed,  "  I  shall  think  myself  obliged  to  send  a 
representation  of  the  matter  to  be  laid  before  his  Majesty." 
Governor  Wentworth  replied  anticipating  the  other's  move 
with  the  statement  that  his  council  were  "unanimously  of 
the  opinion  not  to  commence  a  dispute  with  your  excel- 
lency's government  respecting  the  extent  of  the  western 
boundary  of  New  Hampshire,  till  his  Majesty's  pleasure 
should  be  further  known."  Accordingly  he  should  make 
a  representation  to  the  king,  taking  it  for  granted  that 
Governor  Clinton's  government  would  acquiesce  in  the 
king's  determination  of  the  question.  As  to  his  grant,  it 
was  impossible  now  to  vacate  it,  "  but  if  it  should  fall  by 
his  Majesty's  determination  in  the  government  of  New 
York  it  would  be  void,  of  course."  In  July  Governor 
Clinton  wrote  approving  the  reference  to  the  king,  and 


New  Hampshire  Grants  223 

proposed  an  exchange  of  copies  of  each  other's  representa- 
tions. In  September  Governor  Wentworth  assented  to 
the  latter  proposal. 

So  the  issue  was  joined.  And  here  the  matter  rested 
till  after  the  last  French  and  Indian  War,  1754-1763,  the 
intervention  of  which  prevented  any  determination  of  it 
by  the  crown.  But  bold  Governor  Wentworth  had  gone 
right  on  issuing  his  grants  west  of  the  River,  and  between 
the  springs  of  1751  and  1754  he  had  given  out  grants  for 
thirteen  townships  on  that  side. 

The  move  into  the  Coos  country  began  upon  a  quite 
ambitious  plan  matured  in  the  spring  of  1752.  In  March 
Captain  William  Symes  of  North  Hampton,  New  Hamp- 
shire, sent  a  memorial  to  Governor  Wentworth  offering  to 
raise  a  company  of  four  hundred  men  to  explore  the  region, 
and  cut  a  road  from  Number  4  to  the  Cowass  meadows 
sixty  miles  above,  with  a  view  to  its  settlement,  his  men 
to  have  four  townships. 

From  Captain  Symes's  memorial  the  plan  developed.  It 
was  proposed  to  lay  out  a  line  of  townships  between  the 
two  points,  one  on  each  side  of  the  River,  and  opposite  to 
each  other;  to  erect  in  each  township  a  stockade  with 
lodgments  for  two  hundred  men,  encircling  a  space  of  fif- 
teen acres ;  and  to  set  up  in  the  middle  of  this  space  a 
"  citidel "  to  contain  the  public  structures  and  granaries, 
and  large  enough  to  receive  all  the  inhabitants  and  their 
movable  effects  in  case  of  invasion  or  other  necessity.  To 
render  these  new  plantations  inviting  to  settlers  it  was 
provided  that  they  should  have  courts  of  judicature  and 
other  civil  privileges  among  themselves.  They  should  be 
under  strict  military  discipline,  so  that  each  plantation 
would  be  at  once  a  settlement  and  a  military  post. 

Toward  the   end  of  spring  a  party  were  sent  up  to 


224  Connecticut  River 

"  view  the  meadows  of  Cowass  "  and  survey  the  proposed 
townships.  But  before  work  had  begun  a  delegation  of 
six  warriors  of  the  St.  Francis  tribe  appeared  at  Number  4 
and  asked  for  a  conference  with  Captain  Phinehas  Stevens 
who  remained  in  charge  there.  They  had  come  from  their 
tribe  to  protest  against  the  movement,  and  did  so  with 
alarming  vehemence.  "  For  the  English  to  settle  Cowass 
was  what  they  would  not  agree  to."  The  land  was  theirs, 
and  if  its  occupation  were  attempted  "they  must  think 
that  the  English  had  a  mind  for  war."  If  that  were  so, 
they  would  "  endeavor  to  give  them  a  strong  war."  There 
were  "  four  hundred  Indians  now  a-hunting  on  this  side  of 
the  St.  Francis  River,"  and  if  the  English  scheme  were 
not  abandoned  they  at  Number  4  might  "  expect  to  have 
all  their  houses  burnt."  This  interview  Captain  Stevens 
reported  by  an  "express"  to  Captain  Israel  Williams  at 
Hatfield,  who  in  tm-n  reported  to  Governor  Shirley  at 
Boston ;  and  Governor  Shirley  lost  no  time  in  communicat- 
ino"  it  to  Governor  Wentworth  at  Portsmouth.  The  threat 
was  sufficient.  The  design  was  discouraged,  and  it  was 
relinquished  as  "under  the  circumstances  impracticable." 

Trouble,  however,  followed  close  upon  the  Indian  pro- 
test. Their  blood  was  up,  and  roving  bands,  perhaps  from 
the  four  hundred  hunters,  were  committing  petty  depreda- 
tions here  and  there.  Preparations,  too,  were  making  for 
the  next  French  and  English  struggle.  In  the  spring  of 
1754  Governor  Wentworth  heard  reports  that  the  French 
had  actually  begun  a  settlement  in  the  Coos  country,  and 
were  building  a  fort  there.  To  ascertain  if  these  reports 
were  true  he  sent  out  another  expedition.  This  comprised 
a  company  mostly  of  soldiers  under  Captain  Peter  Powers, 
of  Hollis,  New  Hampshire,  a  "  brave  and  experienced  offi- 
cer."    They  started  from  Rumford  (Concord)  and  followed 


> 
o 


> 


New  Hampshire  Grants  225 

the  course  of  the  previous  party,  striking  the  River  at  the 
present  Piermont,  next  south  of  Haverhill.  Thence  they 
marched  up  the  Valley  alongside  of  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls, 
through  the  Lower  and  into  the  Upper  Coos,  as  far  as 
Northumberland,  at  which  point  it  had  been  said  the 
French  had  placed  their  fort.  No  fort  was  found,  nor  any 
sign  of  a  settlement.  But  there  were  significant  evidences 
of  a  recent  Indian  encampment  on  the  River  side,  and  of 
the  making  of  canoes.  They  returned  as  they  had  come, 
unmolested,  but  Indians  were  close  on  their  heels. 

Then,  soon  after,  Indian  hostilities  were  openly  threat- 
ened with  the  outbreak  of  the  last  French  War,  and  plans 
for  warfare  took  the  place  of  colonization  projects. 

Again  the  few  up-river  plantations  were  mostly  aban- 
doned, their  settlers  falling  back  upon  the  fortified  places 
about  the  Massachusetts  line.  Number  4,  now  Charles- 
town,  however,  retained  its  inhabitants,  increased  at  this 
time  to  about  thirty-two  families ;  and  at  Walpole  the 
Kilburn  family  remained,  with  Colonel  Benjamin  Bellows, 
the  township's  chief  proprietor,  and  some  farm  hands  also 
there.  Ncav  Hampshire  as  before  would  afford  no  protec- 
tion for  her  River  frontiers,  and  Massachusetts  at  first 
proposed  to  confine  her  defences  to  her  northern  line,  thus 
leaving  all  the  posts  above  exposed.  Later,  however,  the 
holding  of  Number  4  from  the  enemy  being  of  first  impor- 
tance, Massachusetts  undertook  its  maintenance,  reporting 
New  Hampshire's  dereliction  to  the  king.  As  affairs  grew 
graver  New  Hampshire  made  slight  provision  for  the 
defense  of  Walpole,  ordering  a  handful  of  men  there  to 
Colonel  Bellows's  charge,  moved  to  this  action,  doubtless, 
by  Colonel  Bellows's  associate  proprietors  in  the  township, 
—  Colonel  Theodore  Atkinson,  the  province  secretary, 
and   Colonel   Josiah    Blanchard    of    Dunstable    (Colonel 


226  Connecticut  River 

Bellows's  brother-in-law),  both  influential  men  in  provincial 
affairs. 

New  Hampshire's  attitude  in  this  matter  of  River  pro- 
tection was  not  as  censurable  as  would  appear.  It  was 
due  not  so  much  to  indifference,  or  to  assurance  that 
Massachusetts  would  have  to  care  for  her  own  protection, 
as  to  the  fact  that  her  abilities  were  taxed  to  the  utmost 
in  furnishing  troops  for  the  Provincial  army  at  the  fight- 
ing line  on  the  Canadian  border. 


XVII 

The  Last  French  War  in  the  Valley 

"Number  4  "  and  the  Charlestown  Settlement  constantly  Imperilled  —  Capture 
of  the  Johnson  Family  the  Morning  after  a  Neighborhood  Party' —  Mrs. 
Johnson's  graphic  "Narrative"  of  their  March  to  Canada  and  After  Expe- 
iences — On  the  Second  Day  out  she  gives  Birth  to  a  Daughter  —  Fortunes 
of  the  Willard  Family  —  The  Johnsons  after  their  Return  from  Captivity :  a 
Remarkable  Record  —  Attacks  on  the  Lovper  Frontiers — The  gallant "  Kil- 
bum  Fight "  at  Walpole  —  Cutting  out  the  "  Crown  Point  Road  "  from 
"  Number  4  "  —  Exploits  of  Robert  Rogers's  Rangers. 

CHARLESTOWN  as  the  outmost  post,  with  no  settle- 
ment within  forty  miles  of  it,  again  bore  the  brunt  of 
war,  and  throughout  the  troubled  period,  1754-1760,  suf- 
fered many  hardships,  while  raids  upon  its  inhabitants 
were  the  most  frequent  and  tragic  in  the  Valley.  Lying 
in  the  line  of  march  of  the  colonial  troops  of  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  and  New  Hampshire  passing  to  and  from  the 
Canadian  points  about  which  this  war  centered,  it  was  a 
constant  military  rendezvous,  and  wore  the  aspect  more  of 
a  military  camp  than  of  a  peaceful  farming  community. 

It  received  the  first  sharp  shock  of  the  outbreak  sud- 
denly, on  a  late  August  morning  of  1754,  when  a  band  of 
Indians,  who  had  stealthily  entered  the  town,  burst  into 
the  house  of  Captain  James  Johnson,  seized  the  seven  in- 
mates, just  roused  from  slumber,  and  hurried  them  all  off, 
together  with  a  neighbor,  on  the  dread  march  to  Canada. 

The  story  of  the  adventures  of  these  captives,  as  told 
in  Mrs.  Johnson's  "  Narrative,"  is  in  incident  and  pathos 
second  only  to  that  of  "  The  Redeemed  Captive"  of  Deerfield. 

227 


228  Connecticut  River 

The  Johnson  farm  was  then  the  most  northerly  place 
on  the  River.  The  substantial  log  house  stood  at  what  is 
now  the  north  end  of  the  village  main  street  on  the  east 
side,  about  a  hundred  rods  above  the  fort.  The  nearest 
habitation  was  Captain  Phinehas  Stevens's  block-house  on 
the  meadows.  Captain  Johnson  was  a  leading  townsman 
and  a  considerable  trader  in  the  Valley.  Mrs.  Johnson 
was  a  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Moses  Willard,  a  first  settler 
with  the  Farnsworths,  his  half-brothers ;  earlier,  with  his 
kinsman,  Colonel  Josiah  Willard,  he  had  been  a  grantee  of 
the  lower  township  of  Winchester.  The  Johnson  house- 
hold comprised  Captain  Johnson  and  his  wife  Susanna, 
then  a  young  matron  of  twenty-four,  their  three  children, 
Sylvanus,  Susanna,  and  Polly,  aged  six,  four,  and  two  re- 
spectively ;  Mrs.  Johnson's  sister,  Miriam  Willard,  a  maid 
of  fourteen;  and  two  "hired  men,"  Ebenezer  Farnsworth 
and  Aaron  Hosmer.  The  settlers  of  the  village  had  been 
uneasy  for  some  time  over  reports  that  the  Indians  were 
out  for  their  destruction,  but  discovering  no  signs  of  evil 
in  the  neighboring  woods,  they  were  going  about  their 
affairs  as  usual. 

The  evening  before  the  attack  there  had  been  a  party 
of  several  neighbors  at  the  Johnson  house,  gathered  to  wel- 
come Captain  Johnson  home  from  a  trading  trip  down  in 
Connecticut,  and  to  look  over  the  choice  things  he  had 
brought  back  with  him.  The  time  had  been  spent  "  very 
cheerfully"  with  watermelons  and  flip  till  midnight,  when 
all  the  company  left  except  a  "  spruce  young  spark  "  who 
lingered  a  while  longer  to  "keep  company"  with  Miriam 
Willard.  At  length  the  household  had  retired  with  "  feel- 
ings well  tuned  for  sleep."  So  they  rested  "  with  fine  com- 
posure "  till  sunrise,  when  a  loud  knock  was  heard  on  the 
outer  door.     This  was  the  peaceful  summons  of  Neighbor 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  229 

Peter  Labaree,  who  had  come  to  begm  a  day's  work  at 
carpentering  by  appointment  with  the  captain.     Then  — 

Mr.  Johnson  slipped  on  his  jacket  and  trousers  and  stepped  to  the 
door  to  let  him  in.  But  by  opening  the  door  he  opened  a  scene 
—  terrible  to  describe.  "Indians!  Indians !"  were  the  first  words  I 
heard.  He  sprang  to  his  guns,  but  Labaree,  heedless  of  danger, 
instead  of  closing  the  door  to  keep  them  out,  began  to  rally  our 
hired  men  up  stairs  for  not  rising  earlier.  But  in  an  instant  a  crowd 
of  savages,  fixed  horribly  for  war,  rushed  furiously  in. 

They  had  been  lying  in  ambush  near  the  house,  and  as 
Labaree  was  entering  sprang  up  and  pushed  by  him. 

I  screamed  [the  Narrative  goes  on]  and  begged  my  friends  to  ask 
for  quarter.  By  this  time  they  were  all  over  the  house ;  some  up 
stairs,  and  some  hauling  my  sister  out  of  bed.  Another  had  hold  of 
me,  and  one  was  approaching  Mr.  Johnson,  who  stood  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor  to  deliver  himself  up.  But  the  Indian  supposing  he 
would  make  resistance  and  be  more  than  his  match,  went  to  the 
door  and  brought  three  of  his  comrades,  and  the  four  bound  him, 
I  was  led  to  the  door  fainting  and  trembling  [she  was  then  with 
child  and  within  a  few  days  of  her  time].  There  stood  my  friend 
Labaree  bound.  Ebenezer  Farns worth,  whom  they  found  up  cham- 
ber, they  were  putting  in  the  same  situation.  And  to  complete  the 
shocking  scene,  my  three  little  children  were  driven  naked  to  the 
place  where  I  stood.  On  viewing  myself  I  found  that  I  too  was 
naked.  An  Indian  had  plundered  three  gowns,  who,  on  seeing  my 
situation,  gave  me  the  whole.  I  asked  another  for  a  petticoat,  but  he 
refused  it.  After  what  little  plunder  their  hurry  would  allow  them 
to  get  was  confusedly  bundled  up,  we  were  ordered  to  march. 

They  were  halted  a  few  rods  beyond  the  house,  behind 
a  rising  ground,  that  the  plunder  might  better  be  packed. 
While  in  the  midst  of  this  work  an  Indian,  sent  back  pre- 
sumably to  fire  the  house,  returned  on  the  run.  Aaron 
Hosmer,  who  had  hidden  in  the  house  and  escaped  capture, 
had  given  an  alarm  to  the  fort  and  a  chase  by  the  soldiers 


230  Connecticut  River 

was  feared.  At  this  report  the  march  was  resumed  in  a 
panic.  Mrs.  Johnson  was  grasped  by  two  savages,  each  at 
an  arm,  and  rushed  along  through  the  thorny  thickets. 
The  loss  of  her  shoe  soon  inflicted  cruel  cuts  on  her  bare 
foot.  The  three  men-prisoners  with  arms  bound,  and  also 
Miriam  Willard  and  the  terrified  children,  were  similarly 
conducted  by  their  hideously  painted  masters. 

So  they  proceeded  for  three  miles,  when  a  halt  was 
made  for  breakfast,  the  danger  of  pursuit  being  apparently 
passed.  It  was  learned  afterward  that  no  rescue  force  had 
been  sent  out,  for  Lieutenant  Willard  had  dissuaded  Cap- 
tain Stevens  from  despatching  one  lest  the  Indians,  if  at- 
tacked, should  massacre  the  captives.  The  sylvan  table 
was  set  forth  with  viands  taken  with  the  other  loot  from 
the  house, — bread,  raisins,  and  apples,  —  but  the  prisoners 
had  no  stomach  for  the  repast.  While  the  meal  was  in 
progress  a  riderless  horse  was  sighted  approaching,  which 
the  prisoners  soon  recognized  as  "  Old  Scoggin,"  Captain 
Stevens's  horse.  An  Indian  raised  his  weapon  to  shoot 
him,  when  Captain  Johnson  interceded.  By  gestures  he 
plead  that  the  beast  be  spared  for  the  "  white  squaw  "  to 
ride,  Mrs.  Johnson's  condition  ha\dng  become  pitiable. 
Accordingly  ''•'  Old  Scoggin "  was  caught  instead  of  slain, 
and  Mrs.  Johnson  was  mounted  upon  him  on  a  saddle  of 
bags  and  blankets.  Her  bleeding  feet  were  covered  with 
moccasins  provided  by  her  Indian  "master,"  and  with 
Labaree's  stockings  which  that  knightly  soul  had  stripped 
from  his  own  bruised  feet  and  "presented  "  to  her. 

Thus  they  jogged  on  for  seven  miles  when  preparations 
were  made  to  cross  the  River  to  the  west  side.  Rafts  of 
dry  timber  being  constructed,  Mrs.  Johnson  was  put  upon 
one  of  them,  while  her  husband  swam  at  its  end  and  pushed 
it  along  j  and  Labaree  swam  the  horse  across.     It  being 


o 


w 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  231 

now  late  in  the  afternoon,  a  stop  was  made  at  the  landing 
place  for  a  supper  of  porridge  cooked  in  Mrs.  Johnson's 
kettles,  which  the  Indians  had  brought  with  their  plunder. 
After  supper  six  or  eight  more  miles  were  covered,  Mrs. 
Johnson  again  riding  the  horse.  The  encampment  for  the 
night  was  established  under  the  trees  in  Wethersfield  be- 
low Ascutney's  graceful  height.  When  the  prisoners  lay 
down  for  rest  they  were  ingeniously  bound  so  that  escape 
was  impossible.  **  The  men  were  made  secure  in  having 
their  legs  put  in  split  sticks,  somewhat  like  stocks,  and 
tied  to  the  limbs  of  trees  too  high  to  be  reached.  My 
sister  .  .  .  must  lie  between  two  Indians,  with  a  cord 
thrown  over  her,  and  passing  under  each  of  them.  The 
little  children  had  blankets,  and  I  was  allowed  one  for  my 
use." 

All  were  roused  before  sunrise,  and  after  a  break- 
fast of  hot  water  gruel  only,  the  signal  "  whoop  "  for  the 
renewal  of  the  march  was  sounded.  Mrs.  Johnson  was 
lifted  upon  the  horse,  and  Captain  Johnson  assigned  to 
march  by  her  side  to  hold  her  on,  for  she  was  now  too 
weak  to  proceed  unaided.  When  the  procession  had  trav- 
elled on  for  an  hour  or  two  her  supreme  moment  came:  — 

I  was  taken  with  the  pangs  of  child-birth.  The  Indians  signified 
that  we  must  go  on  to  a  brook.  When  we  got  there  they  showed 
some  humanity  by  making  a  booth  for  me.  .  .  .  My  children  were 
crying  at  a  distance,  where  they  were  held  by  their  masters,  and 
only  my  husband  and  sister  to  attend  me,  —  none  but  mothers  can 
figure  to  themselves  my  unhappy  posture.  The  Indians  kept  aloof 
the  whole  time.  About  ten  o'clock  a  daughter  was  born.  They 
then  brought  me  some  articles  of  clothing  for  the  child,  which  they 
had  taken  from  the  house.  My  master  looked  into  the  booth  and 
clapped  his  hands  for  joy,  saying  "  two  monies  for  me,  two  monies 
for  me ! " 

I  was  permitted  to  rest  for  the  remainder  of  the  day.   The  Indians 


232  Connecticut  River 

were  employed  in  making  a  bier  for  the  prisoners  to  carry  me  on 
and  another  booth  for  my  lodging  during  night.  They  brought  a 
needle  and  two  pins  and  some  bark  to  tie  the  child's  clothes,  which 
they  gave  my  sister,  and  a  large  wooden  spoon  to  feed  it  with.  .  .  . 
In  the  evening  I  was  removed  to  the  new  booth. 

The  spot  where  this  birth  took  place,  and  the  site  of 
the  previous  night's  encampment,  were  identified  in  the 
town  of  Cavendish  nearly  half  a  century  afterward,  when 
the  child  had  herself  become  a  mother  of  children,  and  two 
inscribed  stones  were  set  up  to  indicate  them.  These  tab- 
lets may  yet  be  seen  by  the  side  of  the  main  road  lead- 
ing from  Wethersfield  .through  Cavendish  to  Reading. 
The  actual  birthplace  is  said  to  be  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  road,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Cavendish. 

At  sunrise  of  the  morning  following  the  child's  birth 
Mrs.  Johnson  was  roused  with  the  others,  and  when  the 
usual  breakfast  of  meal  and  water  was  over,  she  was 
shifted,  with  the  infant  at  her  breast,  to  the  litter  which 
the  Indians  had  prepared.  The  march  was  then  taken  up, 
the  men  captives  bearing  the  litter,  Miriam  Willard  and 
the  boy  on  Scoggin,  and  the  two  little  girls  each  on  the 
back  of  her  master.  When  only  about  two  miles  on  the 
way  the  wearied  litter-bearers,  weakened  by  the  scant  fare 
that  had  been  their  portion,  broke  down  under  their  load. 
Thereupon  the  Indians  by  signs  indicated  that  Mrs.  Johnson 
must  ride  the  horse  or  be  left  behind.  Preferring  this 
alternative  to  a  miserable  death  alone  in  the  forest,  she 
was  lifted  to  Scoggin' s  back  in  place  of  Miriam  and  the 
boy,  while  the  kindly  Labaree  took  the  infant.  In  this 
order  the  party  again  started  off  at  a  "  slow  mournful 
pace."  Once  an  horn:  the  almost  exhausted  woman  was 
taken  from  the  horse  and  laid  on  the  ground  to  rest.  Thus 
her  life  was  preserved  through  her  second  day  of  new 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  233 

motherhood.  That  night  the  party  bivouacked  at  the  head 
of  Black  River  Pond.  The  supper,  mainly  of  gruel,  was 
enriched  with  the  broth  of  a  hawk  which  one  of  the  Indians 
had  killed.  Through  the  next  day,  opening  chill  and 
foggy,  they  plodded  on  across  miry  plains  and  over  steep 
and  broken  hills.  Labaree  still  carried  the  infant  and 
nourished  it  with  occasional  sips  of  water  gruel.  The 
next  day  was  like  its  predecessor,  "  an  unvaried  scene  of 
fatigue." 

Now  famine  threatened  the  party.  Two  or  three  hunting 
bands  sent  out  returned  without  game,  and  the  last  morsel 
of  meal  was  gone.  It  was  determined  to  sacrifice  faithful 
old  Scoggin.  Accordingly  at  dusk  of  this  day  the  horse 
was  shot,  and  a  few  minutes  after  his  flesh  was  broiling  on 
the  embers  of  a  fire  which  the  Indians  had  made  with  the 
help  of  punk  that  they  carried  in  horns.  While  the  hungry 
savages  gorged  themselves  with  these  horse-steaks  they 
offered  the  best  parts  to  the  captives,  an  act  which  "  cer- 
tainly bordered  on  civility."  And,  says  the  narrative,  "an 
epicure  could  not  have  catered  nicer  slices,  nor  in  that 
situation  served  them  up  with  more  neatness."  For 
Mrs.  Johnson  and  the  babe  a  broth  was  made,  "which 
was  rendered  almost  a  luxury  by  the  seasoning  of  roots." 
After  this  novel  supper  "  countenances  began  to  brighten ; 
those  who  had  relished  the  meal  exhibited  new  strength, 
and  those  who  had  only  snuffed  its  effluvia  confessed  them- 
selves regaled.  The  evening  was  employed  in  drying  and 
smoking  what  remained  for  future  use."  The  next  morn- 
ing's breakfast  was  a  feast  of  soup  made  from  the  pounded 
marrow-bones  of  old  Scoggin  and  flavored  with  "  every 
root,  both  sweet  and  bitter,  that  the  woods  afforded."  Each 
of  the  captives  partook  of  as  much  of  the  soup  as  "  his 
feelings  would  allow." 


234  Connecticut  River 

At  the  start  of  this  day's  march  Mrs.  Johnson  was 
obliged  to  walk.  Her  master  tied  her  petticoats  with 
bark  "as  high  as  he  supposed  would  be  convenient  for 
walking,"  and  ordered  her  to  fall  in  line.  "  With  scarce 
strength  to  stand  alone  "  she  stumbled  on  for  about  half  a 
mile,  with  her  little  boy  and  three  Indians,  lagging  behind 
the  rest.  Then  losing  power  to  move  further,  she  dropped 
in  a  faint  as  one  of  the  Indians  was  raising  his  hatchet 
over  her  head.  Upon  her  return  to  consciousness  she 
heard  her  master  angrily  assailing  the  savage  for  attempt- 
ing to  kill  his  prize,  and  saw  how  her  life  had  been  spared. 
Restarting,  Captain  Johnson  helped  her  along  for  a  few 
hours.  Then  faintness  again  overcame  her.  Another 
council  was  held  while  she  lay  gasping  on  the  ground.  At 
length  her  master  cut  some  bark  from  a  tree  and  made  a 
pack-saddle  for  her  husband's  back,  and  to  this  she  was 
lifted.  They  marched  onward  the  rest  of  this  day,  Captain 
Johnson  staggering  under  his  load,  his  bare  feet  lacerated 
by  the  rough  path.  Labaree  still  kept  the  infant.  Farns- 
worth  carried  one  of  the  little  girls,  and  the  other  rode  as 
before  on  her  master's  back.  Miriam  Willard,  strong  in 
her  young  girlhood,  walked  easily,  keeping  pace  with  her 
lusty  master.  That  night  the  Indians  made  more  horse- 
broth  for  supper.  Another  booth  was  built  for  the  ex- 
hausted mother.  Next  morning  she  found  herself  greatly 
refreshed  from  a  good  night's  sleep. 

But  further  peril  was  in  store  for  her.  On  this  day's 
march  she  was  made  to  ford  a  beaver-pond.  When  half 
way  over,  "  up  to  the  middle  in  the  cold  water,"  her  strength 
failed  and  she  became  stiffened  and  motionless.  Her  hus- 
band was  sent  to  her  relief.  Taking  her  in  his  arms  he 
carried  her  across,  and  on  the  bank  a  fire  was  built  at 
which  she  was  warmed  back  to  life.     For  the  rest  of  this 


> 
o 

a 

ci 


^ 


o 

<v 
a 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  235 

day  she  again  rode  on  the  pack-saddle  on  her  husband's 
back.  Labaree  still  carried  the  infant  and  sustained  her 
little  life  with  bits  of  the  horse-flesh  which  he  would 
first  chew  and  then  put  in  the  baby's  mouth.  On  the  af- 
ternoon of  this  day  the  party  halted  for  a  lunch  of  broiled 
duck,  two  savages  sent  out  on  a  hunting  scout  having 
brought  the  fowl  in  as  their  sole  bag.  One  of  the  branches 
of  Otter  Creek  was  then  forded.  In  the  passage  Labaree, 
tripping  in  the  swift  current,  nearly  lost  the  infant.  As 
she  was  floating  down  stream  he  saved  her  by  catching  a 
corner  of  her  blanket  and  pulling  her  in.  On  the  opposite 
bank  proofs  of  the  Indians'  sagacity  were  found.  On  their 
journey  down  from  the  north  they  had  killed  a  bear  at 
this  point.  The  entrails  had  been  cleansed  and  filled  with 
the  fat  of  the  animal,  and  suspended  from  the  limb  of  a 
tree.  Beside  the  tree  also  lay  a  bag  of  flour  and  some 
tobacco :  all  stores  for  use  on  the  return  journey.  Now 
quite  a  sumptuous  feast  was  set  forth.  The  flour  was  made 
into  a  pudding  with  the  bear's  grease  for  a  relishing  sauce, 
and  a  rich  broth  seasoned  with  snake-root  was  prepared. 
The  tobacco  was  shared  with  the  men  captives,  and  they 
derived  what  comfort  they  could  in  their  sorry  condition 
from  an  after-dinner  smoke.  With  the  close  of  the  next 
day,  however,  famine  again  threatened,  and  the  following 
morning's  breakfast  was  of  the  scantiest.  Still  they  were 
pressed  on  painfully  till  nightfall.  Then  at  last  the  cruel 
tramp  ended  with  their  arrival  at  East  Bay,  on  Lake 
Champlain.  After  supper  from  a  ground-squirrel  and  some 
broth,  all  embarked  in  canoes  for  the  voyage  across  the 
lake  to  Crown  Point. 

Fortune  was  now  kind  to  them  for  four  days.  The 
French  commander  received  them  with  much  show  of 
hospitality.    They  were  provided  with  "brandy  in  profusion, 


236  Connecticut  River 

a  good  dinner,  and  a  change  of  linen."  Mrs.  Johnson's 
children  were  all  decently  clad,  and  the  infant  was  so 
decked  out  in  French  raiment  that  her  Puritan  mother 
could  not  recognize  the  ''strange  thing."  But  on  the 
fourth  day  their  miseries  were  renewed  with  their  return 
to  their  masters  and  the  start  on  another  journey.  All 
were  crowded  in  one  little  vessel  and  so  made  the  passage 
to  the  St.  John's  fort,  a  hard  voyage  of  three  days.  At 
this  place  they  were  politely  entertained  by  the  French 
commander  as  at  Crown  Point.  The  next  morning  they 
were  off  for  Chambly.  That  night  Mrs.  Johnson  lodged 
on  a  bed  for  the  first  time  since  her  captivity.  Next 
morning  all  were  oU  in  canoes  for  Sorel.  On  their  arrival 
at  nightfall,  a  kind  friar  took  them  into  his  house.  The 
good  monk  cheered  them  in  the  morning  with  a  relishing 
breakfast  and  "  drank  their  better  healths  "  in  a  brimming 
tumbler  of  brandy.  That  day  they  reached  their  destina- 
tion,—  the  Indian  village  of  St.  Francis,  —  where  their 
masters  belonged. 

Their  arrival  here  was  signalled  by  a  whirlwind  of 
"  whoops,  yells,  shrieks,  and  screams."  With  their  mas- 
ters they  were  made  to  "  run  the  gauntlet "  between  a 
double  line  of  braves  and  squaws.  But  no  hard  blows  were 
suffered,  each  receiving  only  a  slight  tap  on  the  shoulder. 
Now  they  were  finally  separated,  each  master  taking  his 
prizes  to  his  own  quarters.  Eventually  all  but  the  little 
boy,  Sylvanus,  were  sold  to  Frenchmen.  Mrs.  Johnson's 
master  being  a  hunter,  exchanged  her  with  much  for- 
mality, for  the  boy  whom  he  wanted  to  attend  him  on  his 
hunting  excursions.  Her  new  master  was  the  son-in-law 
of  the  grand  sachem,  and  she  with  her  infant  was  adopted 
into  his  family.  The  others  were  early  taken  to  Montreal 
and  sold  there.     Fortimately  for  them  their  purchasers 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  237 

were  all  "  persons  of  great  respectability."  Captain  John- 
son fell  to  a  leading  man.  Susanna,  the  eldest  of  the  two 
little  girls,  was  bought  by  three  affluent  French  maiden 
ladies ;  and  Polly,  by  the  Mayor  of  Montreal  for  his  wife's 
pleasure.  Miriam  Willard  passed  to  good  hands,  being 
taken  into  the  influential  Du  Quesne  family.  Labaree  and 
Farnsworth  both  found  easy  masters,  though  they  chafed 
as  bondsmen. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  these  captives  when  Captain 
Johnson  was  given  a  leave  of  absence  on  parole  to  return 
to  New  England  for  cash  for  their  redemption.  Before  he 
started  Mrs.  Johnson  and  the  babe  had  been  bought  by  the 
Du  Quesnes  and  were  in  Montreal  near  the  others.  Later, 
little  Polly  was  traded  for  and  restored  to  the  mother. 
While  at  Montreal  the  infant  was  baptized  and  was  given 
the  names  of  Louisa,  for  Mme.  Du  Quesne,  and  Captive  in 
token  of  the  circumstances  of  her  birth. 

The  Narrative  goes  on  with  details  of  the  life  in  cap- 
tivity which  extended  through  four  years  or  more.  Among 
other  trying  experiences  there  were  prison  hardships  for 
Mrs.  Johnson  and  her  husband  in  Montreal  and  Quebec, 
for  he  broke  his  parole  through  detention  in  Massachusetts, 
curiously  enough,  as  a  suspected  spy.  So  his  lines  were 
doubly  hard.  Mrs.  Johnson  with  Captive  and  Polly  was 
the  first  to  be  released.  She  got  back  to  the  Valley  by 
the  roundabout  way  of  Europe,  taking  ship  from  Quebec 
for  England.  Captain  Johnson  was  redeemed  in  the  spring 
of  1758.  Early  the  next  summer  he  joined  the  expedi- 
tion against  Ticonderoga  at  the  head  of  a  company,  and 
soon  afterward  met  his  cruel  fate,  being  killed  in  action. 
The  same  summer  Sylvanus  was  restored  to  his  mother. 
He  was  brought  back  to  the  Valley  by  Major  (afterward 
General)   Israel  Putnam.     He  came  with  the   redeemed 


238  Connecticut  River 

Howe  family,  —  Jemima  Howe,  the  "  Fair  Captive  "  of 
Humphrey's  Life  of  Putnam,  and  her  children,  who  were 
captured  at  Fort  Bridgman  in  Hinsdale,  the  year  after  the 
taking  of  the  Johnsons.  Sylvanus's  four  years  of  savage 
life  had  given  him  all  the  characteristics  of  the  Indian. 
He  could  speak  no  English  and  only  a  little  French,  but 
in  the  language  of  the  Indians  was  perfect.  He  could 
bend  a  bow  and  wing  an  arrow,  and  could  brandish  a 
tomahawk  with  the  best  of  the  braves.  By  degrees  his 
Indian  habits  wore  off.  But  to  the  day  of  his  death,  and  he 
reached  the  age  of  eighty-four,  he  retained  his  attachment 
to  the  simple  life  of  the  forest.  His  latter  years  were 
spent  in  Walpole,  and  he  was  an  expert  salmon  fisher 
about  Bellows  Falls.  Susanna  came  back  in  the  summer 
of  1760.  She  returned  with  her  kinsfolk,  Joseph  Willard 
and  family  of  Lancaster.  These  Willards,  father,  mother, 
and  five  children,  had  been  captured  at  their  home  a  few 
months  earlier,  and,  taken  to  Canada,  had  reached  Montreal 
only  a  few  days  before  its  surrender.  Susanna  was  now 
quite  a  cultivated  young  woman,  for  the  good  sisters  Jais- 
son  had  provided  her  a  "  polite  education."  She  did  not 
know  her  mother  when  they  met,  and  could  speak  no 
English. 

Mrs.  Johnson  returned  to  Charlestown  in  the  autumn 
of  1759  and  resumed  her  life  on  the  same  spot  from  which 
she  and  the  rest  had  been  taken.  Three  years  later  she 
married  John  Hastings,  a  worthy  first  settler  at  No.  4, 
and  reared  a  second  family  of  children.  By  her  two  mar- 
riages she  had  fourteen  children  in  all.  She  lived  to  the 
age  of  eighty,  and  could  count  thirty-nine  grandchildren. 
Of  the  daughters  who  had  been  in  captivity  with  her, 
Susan  married  Captain  Samuel  Wetherbee,  afterward  an 
active  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  and  became  the  mother 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  239 

of  fifteen  children,  among  whom  were  five  at  two  births. 
Polly  married  Colonel  Timothy  Bedell  of  Haverhill,  up  the 
River,  who  became  a  captain  of  rangers  in  the  Revolution, 
and  later  a  major-general  in  the  New  Hampshire  militia. 
Though  dying  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven,  Polly  bore 
several  children.  Captive  married  Colonel  George  Kimball 
of  Charlestown.  In  1798  they  removed  to  Lower  Canada 
and  there  the  remainder  of  her  life  was  spent.  She  had 
four  children.  Miriam  Willard  married  the  Rev.  Phinehas 
Whitney,  minister  at  Shirley,  Massachusetts,  for  upward 
of  half  a  century.  She  lived  but  seven  years  after  her 
marriage,  however,  and  left  no  children. 

Labaree  and  Farnsworth  both  returned  to  Charlestown 
and  resumed  the  farmer's  life  which  they  pursued  in  peace 
till  they  reached  old  age.  Labaree  escaped  from  bondage 
and  suffered  many  hardships  on  his  way  back  through  the 
wilderness.  Farnsworth  was  redeemed.  Labaree  upon 
his  return  took  up  a  tract  of  three  hundred  acres  two  miles 
north  of  the  village,  and  became  the  most  northerly  settler 
on  the  River  in  New  Hampshire.  He  lived  to  the  age  of 
seventy-nine.  Farnsworth  took  a  farm  in  North  Charles- 
town, and  here  was  his  home  till  his  death  in  his  seventy- 
eighth  year. 

So  peacefully  closes  this  romance  of  real  life,  only  one 
of  the  many  which  the  records  of  the  Valley  disclose  abun- 
dant in  thrilling  detail  and  rich  in  "atmosphere." 

In  the  old  burying-ground  of  Charlestown  the  traveller 
may  see  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Johnson  and 
her  fellow  captives.  It  was  set  up  with  quiet  ceremony 
thirty-five  years  ago  by  descendants  of  the  Johnsons  and 
of  worthy  Peter  Labaree. 

The  summer  of  1755  was  marked  by  raids  of  Indians 


240  Connecticut  River 

from  Canada  swooping  down  the  Valley  to  and  below  the 
Massachusetts  line.  They  had  become  emboldened  by  the 
failure  of  the  expedition  of  this  season  against  Crown 
Point,  and  by  the  belief  that  the  frontiers  were  more  than 
usually  exposed.  About  midsummer  alarming  news  came 
to  the  Valley.  Five  hundred  Indians  were  said  to  be  col- 
lecting in  Canada  for  an  expedition  to  exterminate  the 
whole  white  population  along  the  River.  Shortly  before, 
Philip,  a  St.  Francis  sachem,  had  appeared  in  one  village 
after  another  with  friendly  demonstrations  and  the  pre- 
tence of  need  of  provisions.  It  was  afterward  learned 
that  he  was  a  spy,  to  ascertain  the  state  of  defence. 

The  most  serious  raids,  presumed  to  have  been  in  con- 
nection with  the  plan  of  extermination,  were  toward  the 
close  of  the  summer.  On  their  down  journey  the  maraud- 
ers crossed  the  River  to  Charlestown,  slaughtered  a  lot 
of  the  settlers'  cattle,  and  carried  off  the  flesh.  Shortly 
after  a  band  appeared  below  Bellows  Falls  at  Walpole. 
Two  settlers,  Daniel  Twichell  and  John  Flynt,  back  on 
the  hills  getting  out  timber  for  oars,  were  attacked  and 
killed.  One  was  scalped ;  the  other  cut  open  and  his  heart 
taken  out  and  laid  in  pieces  on  his  breast.  This  event 
made  "a  solemn  impression"  on  the  scattered  settlers. 
They  imagined  that  TwichelFs  spirit  hovered  over  them 
crying  for  vengeance  on  the  savages.  A  rock  in  the  River 
off  the  Walpole  meadows  where  he  used  to  fish  with  un- 
failing success  was  given  his  name,  and  good  luck  came  to 
the  after-fishers  at  Twichell's  Rock. 

Another  band,  or  perhaps  the  same  one,  appeared  at 
Hinsdale  and  attacked  a  group  of  workers  in  the  woods. 
Two  were  killed,  a  third  escaped.  A  few  days  later,  in 
the  same  settlement,  Caleb  Howe,  Benjamin  Gaffield,  and 
Hilkiah  Grout  were  ambushed  while  returning  from  the 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  241 

fields.  Howe  was  killed.  Gaffield  was  drowned  in  at- 
tempting to  cross  the  River,  and  Grout  escaped.  The 
assailants  made  for  Bridgman's  Fort  in  which  the  families 
of  these  men  were  living.  It  was  now  dusk.  Hearing 
footsteps  and  supposing  their  husbands  were  returning, 
the  women  opened  the  gate  to  receive  them.  Instead  the 
savages  with  a  whoop  rushed  in  and  captured  them  all. 
Fourteen  women  and  children  were  thus  taken,  among 
them  Jemima  Howe,  "  The  Fair  Captive,"  Caleb  Howe's 
wife,  and  her  little  ones,  and  marched  to  Canada. 

Then  came  the  attack  in  force  upon  Walpole  and  the 
siege  of  John  Kilburn's  house,  with  "  Kilburn's  Fight,"  of 
August  17,  the  most  remarkable  conflict  in  the  Valley  of 
this  war.  Here  is  its  animated  story,  with  a  side  story 
of  the  clever  stratagem  of  Colonel  Bellows  outside  the 
Bellows  Fort. 

The  attacking  party  is  said  by  the  historians  to  have 
numbered  fully  four  hundred.  The  Kilbum  household 
embraced  but  six  persons.  These  were  John  Kilburn,  the 
master,  a  virile  man  of  about  fifty;  his  wife  Ruth,  a 
sturdy  young  matron ;  their  son  John,  in  his  eighteenth 
year ;  their  daughter  Hetty,  a  fine  strapping  girl ;  and  one 
Peak,  presumably  a  farm  helper,  with  his  son,  about  young 
John  Kilburn's  age.  The  dwelling  was  a  stout  log-house 
surrounded  by  palisades.  It  stood  above  the  meadows 
under  the  shadow  of  Falls  Mountain,  now  Kilburn  Peak, 
named  for  its  hero.  It  was  about  a  mile  and  a  haK  dis- 
tant from  Colonel  Bellows's  fort. 

At  about  noon  Kilburn  and  Peak  and  the  two  youths 
were  returning  home  to  dinner  from  their  work  in  the 
field,  when  one  of  them  discovered  the  red  legs  of  Indians 
among  some  alders,  "  as  thick  as  grasshoppers."  Quietly 
but  rapidly  gaining  the  house  where  Mrs.  Kilburn  and 


242  Connecticut  River 

Hetty,  unaware  of  danger,  were  preparing  the  noon  meal, 
they  bolted  the  door  and  made  ready  for  defence.  In  a 
few  minutes  they  saw  a  line  of  savages  crawling  up  a  bank 
east  of  the  house.  As  the  red  men  crossed  a  foot-path 
one  by  one,  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  of  them  were 
counted  by  the  group  within.  About  the  same  number, 
it  is  said,  remained  in  ambush  near  the  mouth  of  Cold 
River  and  later  joined  in  the  fight. 

Meanwhile,  or  earlier,  an  attempt  had  been  made  by 
part  of  the  band  to  waylay  and  cut  off  Colonel  Bellows 
and  thirty  of  his  men  who  were  at  the  mill  about  a  mile 
east  of  Kilburn's.  In  this  enterprise,  however,  they  were 
thwarted  by  the  colonel's  ingenious  tactics.  He  and  the 
men,  each  with  a  bag  of  flour  on  his  back,  had  left  the  mill 
and  were  on  their  way  to  the  Bellow^s  Fort  when  their 
dogs  began  to  growl,  thus  betraying  the  neighborhood  of 
Indians,  though  none  was  seen.  Thereupon  the  colonel 
directed  the  men  to  throw  off  the  bags,  get  down  on  all 
fours,  crawl  to  a  rise  of  land  near  by,  and  upon  reaching 
the  top  spring  to  their  feet  all  together,  give  one  whoop, 
then  instantly  drop  again  out  of  sight  in  the  sweet-fern 
that  covered  the  bank.  This  manoeuvre  had  the  expected 
effect  in  drawing  the  savages  from  their  ambush.  At  the 
sound  of  the  whoop,  believing  themselves  discovered,  the 
whole  body  rose  from  the  bushes  among  which  they  had 
lain  in  a  semi-circle  around  the  path  which  the  colonel's 
men  were  to  have  followed.  At  their  showing  the  hidden 
party  fired  a  volley,  and  this  so  disconcerted  them  that, 
without  a  shot  from  their  side,  they  darted  back  into  the 
bushes  and  disappeared.  Then  the  colonel's  party  took  the 
shortest  cut  for  the  fort,  and  there  prepared  for  a  siege. 
But  none  came. 

The  Fight  at  Kilburn's  was  preceded  by  a  demand  for 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  243 

surrender  and  its  scornful  refusal.  It  was  made  by  Philip 
the  spy  whom  Kilburn  had  sheltered  on  his  previous  visit, 
and  supplied  with  flour,  flint,  and  other  provisions.  Com- 
ing forward  to  a  protecting  tree,  Philip  cried  : 

"  Old  John  !  Young  John  !  I  know  ye  !  Come  out  here. 
We  give  you  good  quarter." 

"Quarter!"  vociferated  Kilburn  "in  a  voice  of  thun- 
der."    "  You  black  rascals  begone,  or  we'll  quarter  you  !  " 

Upon  this  defiance  Philip  withdrew  to  the  ambush,  and 
ten  minutes  later  the  war-whoop  rang  out  as  if  "  all  the 
devils  in  hell  had  been  let  loose."  The  assault  was  sig- 
nalled with  a  rush.  Kilburn  got  the  first  fire,  and  believed 
that  he  saw  Philip  drop.  A  shower  of  bullets  fell  upon  the 
house,  and  the  roof  became  a  "  perfect  riddle-sieve." 
While  the  main  body  was  engaged  in  the  assault  others 
were  butchering  the  cattle  and  destroying  the  grain.  The 
little  garrison  kept  up  an  almost  incessant  fire  through  the 
small  portholes,  picking  off  the  savages  as  they  appeared 
in  the  open  with  the  precision  of  sharpshooters.  For 
greater  convenience  they  poinded  their  powder  into  their 
hats.  The  women  loaded  the  guns.  There  was  fortu- 
nately a  spare  set,  so  that  when  one  got  hot  from  frequent 
firing  another  was  ready.  The  hot  ones  were  cooled  by  the 
housewife  "in  a  trough  of  water  in  readiness  to  serve  their 
turn  again.  After  a  while  the  stock  of  lead  ran  short. 
Then  Hetty  stretched  blankets  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
roof  to  catch  the  enemy's  balls  which  penetrated  one  side 
of  it  and  fell  short  of  the  other.  These  the  two  Amazons 
immediately  ran  into  new  bullets,  and  before  they  were 
cool  the  men  had  fired  them  back  to  the  enemy.  At  the 
height  of  the  fight  a  few  venturesome  savages  approached 
close  to  the  house  and  attempted  to  batter  doAvn  the  front 
door;    but  the   marksmen  within  cut  them    off  at  each 


244  Connecticut  River 

attempt.     Most  of  the  time,  however,  the  enemy  fought 
from  behind  logs  and  stumps. 

The  siege  continued  through  the  afternoon  and  till  sun- 
down. Then  the  assailants  began  gradually  to  withdraw, 
and  by  dusk  all  had  departed  carrying  their  wounded  with 
them.  It  is  supposed  that  they  went  directly  back  to  Can- 
ada. At  all  events  the  campaign  of  extermination  was 
abandoned,  and  this  was  the  last  raid  of  a  large  body  of 
Indians  in  force  in  the  Valley. 

The  Kilburn  garrison  marvellously  weathered  the  Fight 
with  only  one  member  hurt.  Peak,  exposing  himself  at  a 
port-hole,  received  a  ball  in  his  thigh.  In  spite  of  the 
wound  he  kept  on  fighting.  But  lacking  siu-gical  aid  the 
poor  fellow  died  on  the  fifth  day  after.  Kilbiu-n  survived 
to  a  green  old  age,  attaining  his  eighty-fifth  year.  Through 
and  for  some  time  after  his  day  the  homestead  was  re- 
tained on  the  same  spot,  and  he  lived  to  see  his  fourth 
generation  here  enjoying  "  the  benefits  of  a  high  civil- 
ization." A  century  or  so  after  his  death  professors  and 
students  of  Amherst  College  frequenting  Falls  Mountain 
fittingly  gave  it  the  name  of  Kilburn  Peak  to  perpetuate 
this  brave  man's  memory.  The  site  of  the  Fight  is  to-day 
one  of  beautiful  Walpole's  most  notable  landmarks. 

• 

While  the  assault  upon  Walpole  was  the  last  raid  of 
the  Indians  in  force,  roving  bands  continued  to  infest  the 
frontier  River  towns  till  close  on  to  the  end  of  the  war, 
killing  or  capturing  groups  of  settlers  at  their  work  and 
committing  various  depredations.  As  before,  Charlestown 
was  the  main  sufferer.  On  a  summer  day  in  1756  a  band 
swept  into  the  settlement  and  waylaid  Lieutenant  Moses 
Willard,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Johnson,  and  his  son.  Mr. 
Willard  was  killed,  and  the  young  man  escaped,  fleeing  to 


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Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  245 

the  fort  with  a  spear  which  the  Indians  had  flung  at  him 
sticking  in  his  side.  The  same  season,  Winchester  and 
Hinsdale  below  were  visited.  In  the  spring  of  the  next 
year,  1757,  a  band  of  Indians  and  French  soldiers  again 
came  upon  Charlestown,  and  at  a  time  when  only  a  handful 
of  men  were  in  the  fort.  Three  groups  of  settlers  out  for 
their  day's  occupations  were  attacked.  It  was  the  morn- 
ing of  the  19th  of  April,  historic  date  of  after  years.  One 
group  was  going  to  the  miU;  another  to  a  maple  sugar 
camp  in  the  woods  ;  the  third  was  on  a  hunting  trip.  The 
men  bound  for  the  mill  were  first  waylaid  and  the  mill 
was  burned.  Next  those  at  the  sugar  camp  were  intercept- 
ed, and  lastly  the  hunters.  Five  were  taken  off  to  Canada 
and  sold  there  as  usual.  One  of  them  was  Deacon  Adams 
of  the  town  church.  Only  two  survived  their  captivity. 
These  were  David  Farnsworth,  another  of  the  Farnsworth 
family  of  first  settlers,  who  escaped,  and  Thomas  Robbins, 
one  of  the  hunting  party.  The  next  summer  a  band  am- 
bushed Asahel  Stebbins's  house,  killed  him  and  captured 
his  wife.  With  her  they  also  took  off  Isaac  Parker.  The 
same  season  the  lower  Valley  region  about  the  Massachu- 
setts line  was  once  more  raided.  At  Hinsdale  Captain 
Moore  and  his  son  were  killed,  the  rest  of  his  family  cap- 
tured, and  their  house  burned  down.  These  were  the  last 
raids  into  the  valley  settlements. 

After  the  spring  of  1757  Number  4  was  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  king's  officers.  The  fort  thereafter  was 
the  rendezvous  of  various  colonial  regiments,  and  a  head- 
quarters of  rangers.  Shortly  after  the  raid  of  April  19  a 
new  regiment  of  New  Hampshire  men,  raised  to  join  in 
another  Crown  Point  expedition,  rendezvoused  here.  This 
was  Colonel  John  Goffe's  famous  regiment  which,  placed 
at  the  rear  of  the  troops  leaving  Fort  Henry  after  the 


240  Connecticut  River 

capitulation  to  Montcalm,  was  so  seriously  cut  up  in  the 
treacherous  massacre  by  Montcalm's  Indian  allies. 

The  closing  performances  in  the  Valley  of  this  war  were 
the  cutting  of  the  Crown  Point  Road  from  Number  4  to 
Crown  Point,  and  the  daring  exploits  of  the  companies  of 
rangers  principally  under  the  brothers  Stark,  John  and 
William,  and  the  redoubtable  Robert  Rogers. 

The  cutting  of  the  Crown  Point  Road  was  a  remark- 
able achievement.  The  Road  properly  began  on  the  west 
side  of  the  River  where  is  now  Springfield,  Vermont,  start- 
ing at  the  landing-place  of  "  Went  worth's  Ferry,"  near  the 
mouth  of  Black  River,  whence  it  proceeded  along  the  old 
Indian  trail  through  the  woods  and  over  the  mountains. 
Wentworth's  Ferry,  named  for  Governor  Benning  Went- 
worth,  crossed  the  River  from  a  point  about  two  miles  above 
Number  4  :  or  a  little  above  the  present  bridge,  over  which 
the  Charlestown  and  Springfield  trolley  line  runs.  It  was 
used  for  the  transportation  of  troops  and  supplies  from  the 
establishment  of  Number  4  through  the  Revolution.  The 
Crown  Point  Road  can  to-day  be  traced  in  Springfield  from 
the  River  bank.  A  monument  set  up  by  the  townspeople 
some  years  ago  marks  the  place  where  it  crosses  the  present 
river  road.  Upon  it,  or  close  by,  the  first  settlers  of  Spring- 
field established  their  homesteads.  It  followed  the  right 
bank  of  Black  River  to  the  present  township  of  Ludlow, 
the  route  there  taking  to  the  mountains. 

The  project  of  building  this  Road  originated  with  the 
Massachusetts  government.  So  early  as  the  spring  of  1756 
an  order  was  passed  in  the  General  Court  at  Boston  for  an 
examination  of  a  route  by  "  the  directest  course  "  from  Num- 
ber 4  to  Crown  Point,  and  Colonel  Israel  Williams  of  Hat- 
field was  particularly  charged  with  this  duty.     In  the 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  247 

following  summer  Lord  Loudon  took  similar  steps  for  a 
military  road  from  the  Connecticut,  and  obtained  from 
Colonel  Williams  a  topographical  sketch  of  the  country, 
compiled  mostly  from  reports  of  officers  of  scouting  parties. 
But  nothing  further  was  done  at  this  time  owing  to  the 
numbers  of  hostile  Indians  infesting  the  region.  The  pro- 
ject was  not  renewed  till  1759,  when  General  Amherst  had 
succeeded  to  the  command  and  victories  had  come  to  the 
English  side. 

The  first  cutting  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  Green 
Mountains.  This  was  made  in  the  summer  of  1759,  under 
the  direction  of  General  John  Stark  and  Major  John 
Hawkes.  The  link  between  Number  4  and  the  mountains 
was  built  the  following  summer.  This  work  was  done  by 
Colonel  John  Goffe  and  his  renewed  regiment  of  eight 
hundred  New  Hampshire  men.  They  had  first  opened  a 
road  from  the  Merrimack  to  the  Connecticut,  clearing  a 
mere  bridle-path  from  their  starting  point  as  far  as  Keene, 
New  Hampshire.  They  arrived  at  Number  4  in  June. 
Crossing  the  River  they  first  built  a  large  blockhouse  close 
by  the  ferry  landing  and  enclosed  it  in  palisades,  as  a  pro- 
tection in  case  of  trouble.  They  were  forty-five  days  in 
cutting  the  Road  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  At  every 
mile  they  set  up  a  post,  and  twenty-six  of  these  mile-posts 
had  been  placed  when  the  mountains  were  reached.  Their 
baggage  was  carried  as  far  as  the  mountains  on  ox-teams ; 
then  pack-horses  were  employed.  Along  the  way  they 
occasionally  saw  the  trails  of  Indians,  but  none  dared  molest 
them.  Such  was  the  speed  with  which  the  work  was 
despatched  that  the  Road  was  completed  in  ample  season 
for  the  regiment  to  participate  in  the  final  expedition 
against  Montreal. 

Of  the  exploits  of  the  rangers,  that  of  Robert  Rogers 


248  Connecticut  River 

and  his  band  in  the  destruction  of  St.  Francis,  the  strong- 
hold of  the  St.  Francis  Indians,  was  the  most  difficult  and 
perilous,  and  the  greatest  in  importance  and  consequences. 
This  sanguinary  affair  occurred  in  October,  1759,  soon 
after  the  cutting  of  the  upper  part  of  the  Crown  Point 
Road.  It  was  the  most  spectacular  performance  of  the 
war  in  this  region,  and  its  story  has  served  as  the  frame 
for  many  a  tale  of  adventure. 

Major  Rogers  was  at  Crown  Point  when  he  received  his 
orders  from  Amherst  to  proceed  to  the  attack.  He  was  to 
remember  "  the  barbarities  committed  by  the  enemy's  Indian 
scoundrels  on  every  occasion  where  they  had  had  opportuni- 
ties of  showing  their  infamous  cruelties  toward  his  Majes- 
ty's subjects."  He  was  to  take  his  revenge,  but, "  although 
the  villians  have  promiscuously  murdered  women  and  child- 
ren of  all  ages,"  he  was  to  kill  or  hurt  no  woman  or  child. 

At  the  start  Rogers's  company  consisted  of  two  hundred 
men,  but  this  number  was  reduced  by  various  calamities  to 
one  hundred  and  forty-two  before  he  reached  his  destination. 
From  Crown  Point  they  rowed  in  batteaux  up  Lake  Cham- 
plain  to  Missisquoi  Bay,  —  Gray  Lock's  old  site.  Here  the 
boats  and  provisions  were  left  with  a  guard,  and  the  march 
into  the  lonely  wilderness  begun.  After  two  days'  march- 
ing the  guard  left  at  Missisquoi  overtook  them  with  the 
alarming  report  that  a  force  of  three  hundred  French  and 
Indians  had  seized  the  boats  and  provisions  and  were  on 
their  trail.     They  only  pressed  on  the  more  rapidly. 

On  the  twenty-second  day  after  leaving  Crown  Point 
they  were  within  three  miles  of  the  village.  It  was  sighted 
by  a  lookout  who  had  climbed  a  tall  tree.  At  dusk  they 
halted  in  the  forest  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village.  When 
night  had  fallen  Rogers  with  two  of  his  men,  each  disguised 
as  Indians,  entered  the  village  and  passed  through  it  undis- 


Last  French  War  in  the  Valley  249 

covered.  They  found  the  people  at  a  festival  celebrating 
a  wedding,  all  unconscious  of  danger  in  their  neighborhood. 
Rogers  determined  to  make  the  attack  before  daybreak 
when  the  village  would  be  in  slumber.  He  divided  his 
force  into  three  sections  and  posted  each  to  advantage.  At 
three  o'clock  the  order  was  given  to  advance  silently  and 
quickly.  The  surprise  was  complete.  As  Rogers  wrote  in 
his  journal,  "  the  Rangers  marched  up  to  the  very  doors  of 
the  wigwams  unobserved,  and  several  squads  made  choice 
of  the  wigwams  they  would  attack.  There  was  little  use 
of  the  musket.  The  Rangers  leaped  into  the  dwellings 
and  made  sure  work  with  the  hatchet  and  knife."  Two- 
thirds  of  the  Indian  warriors  were  slain.  When  the  day 
dawned  a  horrid  sight  met  the  gaze  of  the  assailants  which 
gave  an  "  edge  "  to  their  fury.  It  was  the  spectacle  of 
more  than  six  hundred  scalps  of  their  countrymen,  trophies 
of  former  barbarities,  elevated  on  poles  and  waving  in  the 
air.  They  set  fire  to  all  the  wigwams  but  three  which  they 
reserved  for  their  own  use  as  headquarters.  Many  women 
and  children  perished  in  the  flames,  although  none  was 
deliberately  killed.  Valuable  spoil  was  taken,  for  the  vil- 
lage had  been  enriched  with  the  plunder  of  the  frontiers 
and  the  profit  of  sales  of  captives.  It  also  had  a  church, 
which  some  French  Jesuits  had  erected,  adorned  with  plate. 
Here  were  a  silver  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary  weighing  ten 
pounds,  crosses  and  pictures,  wax  candles  shedding  their 
soft  light  over  the  altar ;  and  in  the  belfry  a  bell  brought 
from  France.  The  invaders  took  off  the  silver  image,  and 
of  the  other  treasures  all  that  they  could  conveniently  carry, 
together  with  quantities  of  wampum,  mattings  and  cloth- 
ing, and  two  himdred  guineas  in  gold.  Only  one  of  the 
invaders  was  killed, — an  Indian  of  the  friendly  bands  in 
Stockbridge,  Massachusetts  ;  and  seven  were  wounded,  one 
of  them  an  officer. 


250  Connecticut  River 

The  work  of  destruction  complete,  Rogers,  without 
waiting  for  rest,  reassembled  his  men  and  ordered  the 
retreat,  for  attack  from  the  pursuers  in  their  rear  was 
feared.  With  them  were  started  on  the  march  five  Eng- 
lishmen whom  they  had  found  prisoners  in  the  village,  and 
about  two  hundred  Indian  captives.  The  route  deter- 
mined upon  was  by  way  of  Lake  Memphremagog,  the 
Coos  country,  and  the  Connecticut  to  Number  4.  In  an- 
ticipation of  a  return  by  this  route,  Amherst  had  ordered 
supplies  sent  up  from  Number  4  to  the  mouth  of  the  lower 
Ammonoosuc  at  Barnet.  It  was  a  march  of  hardship  from 
the  start,  and  before  long  it  became  tragic. 

They  kept  in  a  body  for  eight  days,  obliged  meanwhile 
to  let  their  prisoners  go,  for  their  provisions  were  almost 
exhausted.  Then  they  divided  into  three  parties  and 
scattered,  each  party  under  an  experienced  leader,  to  make 
for  the  rendezvous  at  the  Ammonoosuc' s  mouth  as  best 
they  could.  Rogers  and  the  men  with  him  were  over- 
taken by  the  enemy  and  twice  attacked.  Several  were 
killed,  or  taken  captive.  After  much  suffering  from  cold, 
footsore,  and  hunger,  the  remnant  of  his  party  first  reached 
the  rendezvous.  But  here  to  their  horror  were  no  provi- 
sions ;  only  the  embers  of  a  white  man's  fire  indicating 
the  recent  presence  of  friends.  It  afterward  appeared  that 
supplies  had  been  duly  forwarded  according  to  Amherst's 
order,  but  that  the  officer  in  charge,  after  waiting  two 
days  and  fearing  an  attack,  had  hastened  back  to  Number 
4,  taking  them  with  him ;  an  act  for  which  he  was  de- 
servedly censured.  Rogers's  only  hope  now  being  to  get  to 
Number  4  for  succor,  he  constructed  a  raft  of  dry  pine 
trees,  and  with  two  companions  embarked  upon  it  to  float 
down  our  River.  Of  this  perilous  voyage  Rogers's  own 
account  is  the  most  graphic : 


Last  French  War  in  the  ^^alley  251 

The  current  carried  us  down  the  stream  in  the  middle  of  the  river 
where  we  kept  our  miserable  vessel  with  such  paddles  as  could  he 
split  and  hewn  with  small  hatchets.  The  second  day  we  reached 
White  River  falls,  and  very  narrowly  escaped  running  over  them. 
The  raft  went  over  and  was  lost ;  but  our  remaining  strength  enabled 
us  to  land  and  march  by  the  falls.  At  the  foot  of  them  Captain 
Ogden  and  the  Ranger  killed  some  red  squirrels  and  a  partridge, 
while  I  constructed  another  raft.  Not  being  able  to  cut  the  trees  I 
burnt  them  down,  and  burnt  them  at  proper  lengths.  This  was  our 
third  day's  work  after  leaving  our  companions.  The  next  day  we 
floated  down  to  Watoquichie  [ Water- Queec he]  falls.  .  .  .  Here  we 
landed,  and  Captain  Ogden  held  the  raft  by  a  withe  of  hazel  bushes 
while  we  went  below  the  falls  to  swim  in,  board  and  paddle  it  ashore  ; 
this  being  our  only  hope  of  life,  as  we  had  not  strength  to  make  a 
new  raft.  I  succeeded  in  securing  it ;  and  the  next  morning  we 
floated  down  within  a  short  distance  of  Number  4.  Here  we  found 
several  men  cutting  timber  who  relieved  and  assisted  us  to  the  fort. 

Immediately  upon  their  arrival  a  canoe  was  despatched 
up  the  River  with  provisions  for  those  left  at  the  rendez- 
vous ;  and  two  days  later  Rogers  returned  with  two  more 
canoes  laden  with  supplies  for  the  other  parties  if  they 
should  appear.  The  few  survivors  subsequently  arrived 
in  a  pitiable  condition.  They  had  subsisted  on  such  small 
animals  as  they  could  kill,  with  roots,  nuts,  birch-bark, 
their  leather  straps,  and  their  moccasins. 

The  war  ended  with  the  Valley  at  last  freed  from  its 
traditional  foe.  Number  4  remained  through  the  Revolu- 
tion a  frontier  fort  of  importance.  To-day  its  site  is 
marked  by  a  boulder  erected  by  the  town.  And  "  Number 
4  "  traced  in  the  green  of  the  neat  park  opposite  the  rail- 
way station  greets  the  eye  of  the  traveller  as  he  alights 
from  the  train. 


XVIII 

The  War  of  the  Grants 

Land-Fever  following  the  Conquest  of  Canada  —  Prospecting  in  the  rich  Upper 
Valley  —  Winter  Surveys  for  Tiers  of  Towns  on  both  Sides  of  the  River — 
Great  Activity  of  Wentworth's  Grants-Mill  —  Wholesale  Issue  of  Charters 
—  Form  of  these  Instruments  —  The  Gauntlet  again  Thrown  Down  to  New 
York — Sharp  Tilts  between  the  Governors  —  The  King's  Order  declaring 
the  River  the  Boundary  Line  —  Conflicts  with  New  York  Officers  and 
Courts  over  West  Side  Titles  —  Rise  of  the  "  Green  Mountain  Boys." 

UPON  the  assurance  of  tranquillity  following  the  con- 
quest of  Canada  and  the  scattering  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  schemes  for  the  occupation  of  the  Valley's  upper 
reaches  were  immediately  renewed.  Northward  beyond 
the  English  outposts  —  Charlestown  on  the  Connecticut 
and  Salisbury  on  the  Merrimack  —  still  lay  the  unbroken 
wilderness,  save  a  few  spots  of  cleared  land  and  the  cuttings 
in  the  woods  made  for  military  purposes. 

Soon  speculators,  adventurers,  and  prospective  settlers 
were  pressing  for  footholds  in  this  vast  rich  region,  and  a 
veritable  land-fever  set  in.  By  spring  of  1761  Governor 
Benning  Wentworth  was  prepared  to  start  up  his  opera- 
tions in  New  Hampshire  grants  on  a  larger  and  bolder 
scale  than  before.  Now  his  project  embraced  three  tiers 
of  townships  on  either  side  of  the  Connecticut.  Upon  the 
completion  of  a  new  survey  he  was  issuing  his  charters 
with  astonishing  rapidity.  This  survey  had  begun  in  the 
spring  of  1760,  but  was  not  finished  till  the  next  year. 
Joseph  Blanchard  of  Dunstable,  working  on  the  ice  in  the 
bleak  month  of  March,  carried  it  from  Charlestown  as  far 

252 


o 


o 


V 


The  War  of  the  Grants  253 

as  the  Lower  Coos.  Hubartes  Neal  finished  it  to  the 
Upper  Coos,  above  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls.  Stones  or 
stakes  were  set  up  or  trees  marked  on  the  River's  banks, 
six  miles  apart,  to  indicate  the  comers  of  the  proposed 
townships,  each  to  be  six  miles  square.  From  the  plan  of 
this  survey,  deposited  in  the  land  office  at  Portsmouth,  then 
the  seat  of  the  New  Hampshire  government,  Governor 
Wentworth  took  the  courses  and  distances  for  his  charters. 
These  often  indefinite  and  inaccurate  marks  led  to  various 
heated  disputes  over  boundaries  between  townships. 

Sixty  township  grants  were  turned  out  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1761.  Before  the  close  of  1763 
the  impressive  total  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  eight  had 
been  reached.  These  grants  extended  up  the  Valley  on 
the  east  side  of  the  River  as  far  north  as  Northumberland, 
and  on  the  west  side  to  Maidstone.  They  also  reached 
across  the  present  Vermont  westward  to  an  imaginary  line 
assumed  to  be  twenty  miles  east  of  the  Hudson,  and  above 
the  Hudson  to  Lake  Champlain.  Thus  the  gauntlet  was 
again  thrown  down  to  the  province  of  New  York. 

Wentworth's  charters  were  all  of  one  form.  Each 
township  was  divided  into  shares,  generally  sixty-eight  in 
number.  One  share  was  reserved  for  the  first  settled 
minister,  —  the  orthodox  one ;  one  for  a  glebe  for  the 
Church  of  England ;  one  for  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  established  in  England ; 
and  one  for  a  school ;  while  five  hundred  acres,  accounted 
as  two  shares,  Wentworth  reserved  for  himself.  As  soon 
as  fifty  families  were  become  actual  residents  on  a  grant 
the  township  was  to  have  liberty  of  holding  a  weekly  mar- 
ket and  town  fairs  semi-monthly.  All  pine  trees  within  a 
township  fit  for  masts  in  the  royal  navy  were  to  be  pre- 
served for  the  king,  and  none  of  them  was  to  be  cut  or 


254  Connecticut  River 

felled  without  a  royal  license.  One  shilling  ''  proclama- 
tion money  "  for  every  hundred  acres  settled  or  possessed 
was  to  be  paid  yearly  after  the  expiration  of  ten  years  from 
the  date  of  the  charter. 

To  several  of  the  earlier  townships  Wentworth  gave  the 
names  of  the  ducal  house  of  Lancaster;  and  that  of  the 
family  manor  of  the  Wentworths  in  England  —  Bretton 
Hall,  at  Bretton,  County  York  —  subsequently  appeared  in 
Bretton  Woods,  which  became  the  town  of  Carroll,  at  the 
base  of  the  White  Mountains.  In  these  acts,  and  in  other 
circumstances,  local  historians  see  evidence  of  an  intention 
to  erect  an  American  baronage  in  this  fair  region. 

The  grants-mill  ran  on  merrily  without  check,  and  with 
accumulating  profits  to  the  thrifty  governor,  till  the  close 
of  1763.  Then  New  York  again  took  action.  Lieut.  Gov- 
ernor Cadwallader  Colden  issued  his  proclamation  (Decem- 
ber 28,  1763)  reasserting  the  validity  of  the  claim  of  New 
York  to  the  territory  west  of  the  river ;  formally  assuming 
jurisdiction  over  it ;  and  commanding  the  sheriff  of  Albany 
County  to  make  returns  of  the  names  of  all  persons  who 
had  taken  possession  therein  under  New  Hampshire  titles. 
Governor  Wentworth  responded  with  a  counter  proclama- 
tion (March  13,  1764),  pronouncing  the  Duke-of-York 
grants  to  be  obsolete ;  justifying  the  claim  of  New  Hamp- 
shire to  a  bound  as  far  westward  as  the  bounds  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut ;  assuring  the  settlers  that  the 
crown  would  confirm  his  grants  as  issued  should  the  juris- 
diction be  altered  ;  exhorting  them  not  to  be  intimidated  ; 
and  ordering  the  civil  officers  to  exercise  jurisdiction  as 
far  westward  as  the  grants  had  been  established  and  to 
"  prosecute  all  disturbers  of  the  peace." 

Meanwhile  New  York  had  made  two  shrewder  moves, 
and  these  ultimately  gave  her  the  game.     One  was  the 


The  War  of  the  Grants  255 

quiet  despatching  of  a  "representation  "  of  the  matter  from 
her  point  of  view  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations  in 
England ;  the  other,  an  express  application  to  the  crown 
for  a  declaration  of  the  boundary  line.  The  king  acted 
accordingly,  and  under  date  of  July  20,  1764,  he  declared 
"the  western  banks  of  the  River  Connecticut  to  be  the 
boundary  line  between  the  said  two  provinces." 

The  settlers  on  Wentworth's  west  side  grants  at  first 
accepted  the  king's  decision  with  equanimity,  for  they  as- 
sumed that  their  titles  were  confirmed,  as  Wentworth's 
proclamation  had  assured  them  they  would  be  were  the 
jurisdiction  changed.  But  the  term  "  to  be  "  in  the  deci- 
sion proved  a  stumbling-block  by  which  they  were  wofuUy 
tripped.  New  Hampshire  interpreted  this  phrase  as  "  de- 
signed to  express  the  future  and  not  to  refer  to  the  past." 
New  York  construed  it  as  "  a  declaration  not  only  of  what 
was  to  be  for  the  time  to  come,  but  of  what  was  and  always 
had  been"  that  province's  eastern  limit.  In  accordance 
with  this  construction  New  York  declared  all  the  west  side 
New  Hampshire  grants  illegal,  and  ordered  the  settlers  to 
surrender  their  charters  and  take  out  new  titles  from  her. 

Thus  the  War  of  the  Grants  began.  The  west  side 
settlers  were  thrown  into  much  distress.  Obtaining  the 
new  grants  involved  more  fees  and  other  expenses  which 
they  could  ill  bear.  Some,  however,  compHed  with  the 
demand  without  friction.  Others  protested,  but  finally 
bought  their  lands  a  second  time.  More  refused,  and  de- 
fied the  New  York  officers.  Actions  of  ejectment  were 
begun  in  two  counties  which  New  York  set  up,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  Green  Mountains.  The  actions  were  of  com'se 
decided  in  favor  of  New  York.  Associations  were  formed 
among  the  resisting  settlers  against  the  New  York  officers 
and  courts.     So  arose  the  "  Green  Mountain  Boys." 


256  Connecticut  River 

The  settlers  also  appealed  their  case  to  the  crown,  and 
at  length,  in  1767,  the  tables  were  turned  on  New  York, 
when  a  royal  order  was  obtained  forbidding  her  governor 
to  regrant  lands  covered  by  the  New  Hampshire  title  until 
the  king's  further  pleasure  in  the  matter  should  be  made 
known.  Notwithstanding  this  inhibition,  however,  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Golden  persisted  in  his  policy  of  aggres- 
sion, and  the  settlers  continued  their  resistance.  At  the 
same  time  Governor  Wentworth  was  keeping  up  the  issue 
of  his  grants,  confining  them,  however,  since  the  king's 
order  of  1764,  to  the  east  side  of  the  River.  Such  was  the 
situation  when  the  Revolution  came. 

Benning  Wentworth  withdrew  from  the  governorship 
in  1766,  —  virtually  superseded  though  permitted  to  resign, 
for  in  the  latter  years  of  his  administration  of  a  quarter  of 
a  century  he  had  succeeded  in  pleasing  neither  king  nor 
people,  —  and  then  began  the  reign  of  his  broader,  abler 
and  courtlier  nephew,  John  Wentworth,  last  of  the  royal 
New  Hampshire  governors.  Governor  John  continued  the 
issue  of  grants  on  the  line  of  Governor  Benning's  opera- 
tions, but  with  far  less  speculative  energy,  and  with  an  eye 
more  to  the  prosperous  establishing  of  plantations  than  to 
his  own  emolument.  It  was  Governor  John  whose  persua- 
sion and  generous  aid  brought  the  Rev.  Eleazer  Wheelock 
to  the  Upper  Valley  and  established  Dartmouth  College  on 
the  Beautiful  River's  bank.  By  him  the  subject  of  the 
college  was  first  introduced  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  his 
intimate  friend  ;  and  Dartmouth's  patronage  in  the  venture 
was  due  directly  to  his  influence.  But  Governor  Benning, 
while  in  office,  gave  the  land,  the  tract  of  five  hundred 
acres,  upon  which  the  college  was  erected.  After  the  death 
of  Benning,  in  1771  (leaving  the  bulk  of  his  estate  to  his 


The  War  of  the  Grants  257 

youthful  wife,  lowly  but  lovely  Martha  Hilton,  the  "  Lady 
Wentworth "  of  Longfellow's  poetic  fiction),  the  New 
Hampshire  Council  determined  that  the  reservation  of  five 
hundred  acres  for  himself  in  each  of  his  charter-grants  did 
not  convey  the  title  to  him.  So  these  reserved  portions 
were  offered  to  private  settlers  who  quickly  took  them  up. 

The  settlers  on  the  grants  along  the  River  emigrated 
for  the  most  part  up  from  the  Connecticut  Colony;  the 
others  were  principally  from  Massachusetts.  Those  on  the 
grants  west  of  the  Green  Mountains  were  also  largely  from 
Connecticut,  with  a  considerable  number  from  Massachu- 
setts and  a  few  from  Rhode  Island.  Coming  from  these 
colonies  and  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  local  self-government, 
they  had  little  in  common  with  New  Hampshire  and  its 
centralized  system ;  less  with  New  York.  Accordingly, 
thus  isolated  in  the  wilderness,  they  set  up  theu'  townships 
upon  a  system  of  local  government  which,  although  fash- 
ioned after  that  of  the  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  town, 
became  in  its  development  so  much  more  democratic  as  prac- 
tically to  convert  each  township  into  an  independent  republic. 

The  Green  Mountains  separated  the  grants  into  two 
distinct  sections,  and  constituted  a  formidable  barrier  to 
mutual  intercourse.  Differences  other  than  geographical 
also  existed  betv,^een  the  two  sections,  sufficient,  ultimately, 
in  the  midst  of  the  Revolution,  to  produce  two  separate 
and  diverse  schemes  of  state-making.  These  schemes  came 
to  be  pressed  by  two  parties,  the  Bennington  and  the  Col- 
lege parties,  so  called  respectively.  The  former  were  di- 
rected from  the  political  centre  west  of  the  mountains  in 
Bennington,  the  latter  from  the  seat  of  Dartmouth  College. 

With  the  planting  of  the  college,  the  College  party 
shortly  developed,  forwarding  their  scheme  for  a  state  on 
the  grants. 


XIX 

Dartmouth  College  and  "New  Connecticut" 

Bival  Schemes  of  State-Making  —  College  Party  versus  Bennington  Party  — 
Germ  of  the  College  Party  :  Wheelock's  Fixture  of  Dartmouth  in  the 
Upper  Valley  —  Character  of  the  Pioneer  Settlements  here  —  The  College 
District  the  Political  Centre  —  "  Dresden  "  and  College  Hall  —  Secession 
of  East  Side  Towns  —  Notable  State  Papers  by  the  Dresden  Statesmen  — 
Erection  of  the  State  of  New  Connecticut  at  Westminster  —  Substitution 
of  Vermont  for  New  Connecticut  —  The  Constitutional  Convention  at 
Windsor  —  Vermont  Launched  "amidst  the  Tumults  of  War"  —  Short- 
Lived  Union  with  East-Side  Towns. 

f  I IHE  rival  schemes  of  state-making  ripened  with  the 
I  Revolution.  That  of  the  College  party  originally 
contemplated  the  union  of  all  of  the  New  Hampshire  grants 
on  both  sides  of  the  River  and  east  of  the  Green  Mountains, 
in  the  state  of  New  Connecticut,  with  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment at  the  college  seat  in  Hanover  or  its  neighborhood. 
The  Bennington  party's  scheme  comprised  the  establish- 
ment of  the  grants  west  of  the  River  and  on  either  side  of 
the  mountains,  as  an  independent  district.  The  Bennington 
party  were  animated  primarily  by  the  hostility  to  New 
York  growing  out  of  the  bitter  contest  over  the  Wentworth 
charters,  coupled  with  their  aversion  to  the  still  existing 
system  of  centralization  in  that  state,  abhorrent  to  their 
democratic  spirit.  The  College  party  reached  their  idea  of 
a  new  state  "  through  a  calm  and  unimpassioned  process 
of  reasoning,  in  which  apparently  expediency  played  a 
leading  part,"  as  John  L.  Rice  tersely  puts  it  in  his  bro- 
chure on  the  movement.     It  was  the  contest  so  familiar  in 

258 


Eleazar    Wheelock    (1711-1779), 

Founder  of  Dartmouth  College. 

From  an  old  painting. 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut      259 

our  day  between  the  practiced  politicians  and  the  ''  literary 
fellows,"  with  the  customary  result.  Although  mighty 
with  the  pen,  the  "  men  of  thought  were  no  match  for  the 
men  of  action,"  as  the  event  proved.  Nevertheless  they 
maintained  a  skillful  warfare,  produced  some  exceedingly 
able  papers,  and  kept  affairs  astir  in  the  Upper  Valley  for 
more  than  six  years.  They  created  a  schism  on  both  sides 
of  the  River,  which  baffled  the  other  party,  and  moved 
bluff  Ethan  Allen  to  arraign  them  with  more  vigor  than 
regard  for  the  rules  of  orthography  as  "a  Petulent,  Pette- 
foging,  Scribling  sort  of  Gentry  that  will  keep  any  govern- 
ment in  hot  water  till  they  are  thoroughly  brought  under 
the  Exertions  of  Authority." 

The  germ  of  the  College  party  was  in  Eleazer  Whee-  ^^ 
lock's  final  selection  of  the  Upper  Valley  for  the  location 
of  Dartmouth  College,  evolved  from  his  "  Moor  Indian 
Charity  School,"  begun  fifteen  years  before  (1754)  upon  its 
charter  by  the  crown  in  1769.  On  the  grants  then  occu- 
pied in  the  region  there  were  among  the  few  settlers  a  num- 
ber of  men  of  means  and  cultiu-e,  several  of  them  graduates 
of  Yale  and  Harvard,  who  were  zealous  in  public  matters, 
and  had  been  directly  instrumental  in  leading  Wheelock 
here.  With  or  soon  following  him  came  more  of  similar 
stamp,  and  these  united  with  the  others  in  making  the 
college  almost  immediately  a  centre  of  pohtical  influence. 

Between  most  of  these  new  settlements  there  was  a 
strong  community  of  interests,  for  their  settlers  had  largely 
come  from  neighboring  towns  in  eastern  Connecticut.  The 
grantees  of  four  of  them  —  Lebanon,  Hanover,  Hartford, 
and  Norwich,  on  either  side  of  the  River  —  were  townsmen 
of  the  Connecticut  Lebanon,  where  Wheelock' s  Indian 
School  originated,  and  of  its  neighbors,  Windham  and 
Mansfield.     These  four  grants  were  intentionally  grouped     -^ 


260  Connecticut  River 

together  by  their  proprietors,  and  their  charters  were  issued 
on  the  same  day  —  July  4,  1761.  They  were  the  first  of 
the  new  crop  of  Wentworth  grants,  and  the  first  chartered 
in  this  part  of  the  Valley.  Their  names  were  taken  from 
the  old  Connecticut  towns,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Hanover,  which  was  named  for  the  parish  of  Hanover, 
then  a  part  of  the  Connecticut  Norwich.  Lyme,  chartered 
only  four  days  after  the  first  four,  and  named  for  old  Ljnne 
of  the  lower  Valley,  was  also  settled  by  eastern  Connecti- 
cut folk.  So  were  Hartland  on  the  west  side,  granted  two 
days  after  Lyme,  Thetf ord,  west  side,  granted  the  following 
August,  and  Orford,  east  side,  in  September.  The  other 
towns  of  the  group,  Cornish  and  Haverhill  on  the  east  side, 
granted  respectively  in  June  and  May,  1763,  and  Newbury, 
west  side,  in  August,  were  settled  by  Massachusetts  stock; 
hence  the  names  of  Haverhill  and  Newbury  for  the  old 
Essex  towns  of  that  colony. 
/  Hanover  was  the  geographical  as  well  as  the  political 
centre  of  this  group.  That  section  of  Hanover  in  which 
the  college  was  placed  was  early  set  apart  as  the  College 
District,  and  was  put  under  the  jurisdiction  of  President 
Wheelock,  who  was  appointed  a  civil  magistrate  for  its 
government.  It  comprised  a  territory  three  miles  square 
immediately  surrounding  the  college.  After  a  few  years 
the  town  sanctioned  its  incorporation  under  the  name  of 
Dresden,  and  as  such  it  maintained  a  separate  organization 
for  some  time.  The  significance,  if  any,  of  the  name  of 
Dresden  does  not  appear.  Here  the  College  party  centered 
in  College  Hall. 

The  initial  tilt  of  the  Dresden  statesmen  was  against 
the  New  Hampshire  Provincial  Congress  of  1775-1776, 
meeting  at  Exeter.  The  issue  turned  on  the  assumed  right 
of  each  incorporated  town  to  representation  in  that  body 


t^ 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut     261 

and  in  the  legislature  that  succeeded  it.  The  basis  of  re- 
presentation which  the  congress  had  adopted  was  numerical, 
arrived  at  approximately  by  grouping  the  smaller  towns  in 
classes  and  assigning  to  each  class  a  single  representative. 
Thus  Grafton  County,  which  included  the  new  settlements 
on  the  east  side  of  the  River,  was  accorded  but  six  repre- 
sentatives in  a  body  of  eighty-nine  members.  Hanover  was 
in  a  class  with  five  other  towns.  Designated  the  chief 
town  of  its  class,  Hanover  duly  received  a  precept  for  an 
election  to  the  congress  to  convene  at  Exeter  in  December, 
1775.  The  selectmen  refused  to  hold  a  meeting  and  sent 
the  precept  back  with  no  return  on  it.  The  other  classes, 
though  dissatisfied,  complied  with  their  precepts  and  sent 
delegates.  So  the  Hanover  class  was  alone  of  Grafton 
County  unrepresented. 

At  the  session,  however.  President  Wheelock's  son 
John,  then  a  young  man  of  twenty-one,  four  years  gradu- 
ated from  the  college,  and  already  experienced  in  affairs, 
appeared  as  the  agent  of  the  unrepresented  class  with  a 
petition  for  a  change  in  the  law  by  which  its  six  towns 
should  have  for  the  present  two  representatives.  This 
petition  was  urged  especially  on  the  ground  that  a  proper 
representation  was  most  necessary  in  "  this  unsettled,  crit- 
ical, and  interesting  day."  But  the  congress  accorded  it 
scant  consideration,  even  treating  it  with  "  something  like 
contempt."  Naturally  the  dissatisfaction  increased,  and 
when  in  due  course  a  second  precept  was  received  it  was 
ignored  more  pointedly  than  the  first  one.  The  issue  was 
brought  to  a  crisis  by  the  act  of  the  last  congress,  that  of 
January,  1776,  perpetuating  the  objectionable  basis  of  re- 
presentation in  the  frame  of  government,  or  "  temporary 
constitution,"  adopted  prior  to  the  transformation  of  the 
body  into  a  Council  and  House  of  Representatives. 


1/ 


262  Connecticut  River 

At  once  thie  College  party  asserted  themselves.  In  April 
circular  letters  were  sent  out  from  "  Dresden  "  to  the  com- 
mittees of  safety  of  various  towns,  calling  them  together 
for  conference  and  action.  On  the  thirty-first  of  July  a 
convention  of  them  from  eleven  towns  assembled  at  Dresden 
to  take  up  the  matters  of  grievance.  They  comprised  repre- 
sentatives of  the  six  towns  in  the  Hanover  class  and  of  the 
east  side  River  towns  northward,  —  Lyme,  Orford,  Haver- 
hill and  Bath.  The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  practi- 
cally a  declaration  of  independence  of  the  Exeter  government. 

No  record  of  this  assembly  remains  beyond  the  printed 
Address  "to  the  people  of  the  several  towns  throughout 
the  Colony."  The  College  Hall  in  which  the  proceedings 
were  held  was  the  rude  structure  built  up  from  Eleazer 
Wheelock's  first  one-story  dwelling,  and  used  in  part  for 
commons,  and  in  part  jointly  by  the  college  and  the  towns- 
people for  chapel,  meetinghouse  and  public  hall.  It  is  only 
conjectured  who  constituted  the  leading  factors.  Presum- 
ably chief  among  them  were  Bezaleel  Woodward,  Eleazer 
Wheelock's  brother-in-law,  at  the  time  a  tutor  in  the  col- 
lege, afterward  the  professor  of  mathematics,  and  Colonel 
Elisha  Payne  of  Cardigan  (now  Orange,  east  of  Lebanon), 
a  trustee  of  the  college,  just  appointed  by  the  Exeter  gov- 
ernment a  judge  of  the  New  Hampshire  court  of  appeals, 
at  a  later  period  chief -justice  of  Vermont.  Probably  among 
the  dignitaries  occupying  the  platform,  that  rostrum  "  of 
bass-wood  planks  hewn  with  an  axe  "  from  which  great 
thoughts  were  uttered  in  the  brave  youth  of  Dartmouth, 
was  Eleazer  Wheelock.  And  doubtless  young  John  Whee- 
lock  was  an  active  participant.  Woodward  is  generally 
assumed  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  iVddress  ;  though 
Rice  intimates  that  the  hands  of  both  Woodward  and  Payne 
were  in  its  composition. 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut     263 

It  was  indeed  a  remarkable  document  coming  out  of  the 
wilderness.  Disregarding  what  had  been  done  at  Exeter, 
it  opened  with  the  bold  declaration  that  "  the  important 
crisis  is  now  commenced  wherein  the  providence  of  God, 
the  Grand  Continental  Congress,  and  our  necessitous  cir- 
cumstances call  upon  us  to  assume  our  natural  right  of 
laying  a  foundation  of  civil  government  within  and  for 
this  Colony."  The  Exeter  scheme  of  representation  was 
skilfully  discussed  with  this  virile  conclusion : 

"  Our  assertion  holds  good  :  (viz.)  That  no  person  or  body  corpo- 
rate can  be  deprived  of  any  natural  or  acquired  right  without  forfeit- 
ure or  voluntary  surrender,  neither  of  which  can  be  pretended  in  this 
case :  Therefore  they  who  espouse  the  argument  are  necessarily 
driven  to  adopt  this  principle :  (viz.)  That  one  part  of  the  Colony 
hath  a  right  to  curtail  or  deprive  the  other  part  of  their  natural  and 
acquired  rights  and  privileges,  even  the  most  essential,  without  their 
consent.  .  .  ." 

Summing  up  the  case  it  was  asserted  that  since  there  was 
"  no  legal  power  subsisting  in  the  Colony  for  the  piu-pose 
for  which  it  is  now  necessary  there  should  be  :  it  is  still  in 
the  hands  of  the  people."  Accordingly  the  people  were 
called  upon  "to  exercise  the  rights  and  privileges  they 
have  to  erect  a  supreme  legislative  court  for  the  Colony 
in  order  to  lay  a  foundation  and  plan  a  government  in 
this  critical  juncture  of  affairs."  As  for  the  issuers  of  the 
address : 

"we  are  determined  not  to  spend  our  blood  and  treasure  in  de- 
fending against  the  chains  and  fetters  that  are  forged  and  prepared 
for  us  abroad,  in  order  to  purchase  some  of  the  like  kind  of  our  own 
manufacturing ;  but  mean  to  hold  them  alike  detestable." 

Towns  concurring  in  the  sentiments  of  the  Address 
were  asked  to  communicate  with  Bezaleel  Woodward,  as 
"  clerk  of  the  United-Committees."     How  generally  they 


264  Connecticut  River 

responded  is  indicated  by  a  letter  of  President  Meshech 
Weare  of  the  Council  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  state's 
delegates  in  the  Continental  Congress.  Writing  from  Exe- 
ter under  date  of  December  16,  1776,  he  refers  to  the  Ad- 
dress "fabricated,  I  suppose,  at  Dartmouth  College,"  as 
having  had,  "  with  the  assiduity  of  the  College  Gentlemen," 
such  an  effect  "  that  almost  the  whole  county  of  Grafton, 
if  not  the  whole,  have  refused  to  send  members  to  the  new 
Assembly  which  is  to  meet  next  Wednesday." 

Meanwhile  the  Bennington  party  on  the  west  side  of 
the  River  and  west  of  the  Green  Mountains  had  been  an- 
tagonizing New  York  and  were  now  pushing  their  scheme 
of  an  independent  state. 

In  January,  1775,  several  towns  west  of  the  mountains 
had  organized  in  opposition  to  New  York  at  a  convention 
held  in  Manchester,  twenty-five  miles  north  of  Bennington. 
Three  months  after,  in  April,  the  committees  of  safety  of 
towns  east  of  the  mountains  convened  at  Westminster  on 
the  River  and  took  similar  and  more  definite  action.  The 
latter  body  voted  a  petition  to  the  king  "  to  be  taken  out 
of  so  offensive  a  jurisdiction  and  either  annexed  to  some 
other  government  or  erected  and  incorporated  into  a  new 
one."  The  towns  represented  in  this  convention  were  all 
of  Cumberland  coimty,  one  of  two  counties  into  which  New 
York  had  divided  her  claimed  territory  between  the  moun- 
tains and  the  River  ;  Cumberland  embracing  the  country 
south  of  a  line  touching  the  River  above  Windsor,  the  other 
county,  Gloucester,  taking  in  the  towns  north  of  that  line. 

The  affair  at  Lexington  and  the  Concord  Fight  eight 
days  after  the  Westminster  convention  "  rendered  any  pe- 
tition to  the  king  inexpedient,"  as  the  chroniclers  of  the 
time  with  unconscious  humor  record.  No  further  definite 
move  was  made  tiU  the  opening  of  1776,  when  in  January, 


John  Wheelock  (1754-1817),  Son  of  Eleazar  Wheelock, 
Second  President  of  Dartmouth  Colle2;e. 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut      265 

a  convention  of  the  committees  of  a  majority  of  the  towns 
west  of  the  mountains  met  at  Dorset,  the  next  town  north 
of  Manchester,  and  advanced  matters  a  point  or  two.  The 
weightiest  act  of  this  body  was  the  preparation  of  an  ad- 
dress to  the  Continental  Congress  remonstrating  against 
further  submission  to  New  York,  with  a  petition  that  the 
people  on  the  grants  be  permitted  to  do  duty  in  the  Con- 
tinental service  as  a  district  by  themselves.  In  May  Con- 
gress offset  the  petition  with  a  recommendation  that  the 
protestors  remain  under  New  York  till  the  end  of  the  war 
with  assiuance  that  their  case  would  not  be  prejudiced  by 
such  action. 

This  rebuff  acted  as  a  stimulus  rather  than  a  check  to 
the  leaders.  In  June  all  the  towns  on  the  grants  west  of 
the  River  were  called  to  another  Dorset  convention  for  July, 
and  this  body,  assembling  only  a  few  days  before  the  meet- 
ing of  the  College  party  at  Dresden,  resolved  that  "appli- 
cation be  made  to  the  inhabitants  of  said  grants  to  form 
the  same  into  a  separate  district."  Since  only  one  dele- 
gate was  present  from  the  east  side  of  the  mountains  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  visit  the  Cumberland  and 
Gloucester  county  towns  and  endeavor  to  secinre  their  co- 
operation. During  the  summer  this  committee  came  into 
the  Valley  and  met  the  various  town  committees  at  confer- 
ences at  Windsor,  Thetford,  and  Norwich.  At  the  Nor- 
wich conference  John  Wheelock  appeared  from  Hanover 
and  siu-prised  the  Dorset  committee  with  the  proposition 
that  the  east  side  towns  which  the  College  party  represented 
be  included  in  the  movement.  The  conference  broke  up 
without  action  on  the  proposition.  Nevertheless  the  wedge 
had  been  inserted. 

The  result  of  the  committee's  canvass  was  the  appear- 
ance of  ten  delegates  from  the  towns  between  the  mountains 


266  Connecticut  River 

and  the  River  at  the  next  convention,  also  held  at 
Dorset,  in  September.  But  none  appeared  from  the  Glouces- 
ter county  towns.  Accordingly,  another  adjournment  was 
taken  to  October,  to  allow  for  further  missionary  work. 
In  order  more  effectually  to  conciliate  the  Gloucester  towns, 
it  was  arranged  that  the  October  sitting  should  be  at  West- 
minster on  the  River.  When,  however,  the  day  arrived 
the  people  of  the  territory  were  too  agitated  over  war 
preparations,  the  defeat  of  the  American  naval  force  on 
Lake  Champlain,  and  the  apprehended  attack  on  Ticon- 
deroga,  to  give  attention  to  civic  projects.  Consequently 
only  a  few  delegates  appeared,  and,  without  action  on  the 
vital  question,  the  body  again  adjourned. 

At  the  next  session,  January  15,  1777,  held  in  the 
Westminster  Court  House,  the  scheme  was  finally  carried 
through,  and  the  declaration  of  independence  of  New  York 
was  at  length  proclaimed  with  the  formal  setting  up  of  the 
new  state.  Gloucester  county  was  now  represented,  and  of 
the  committee  of  five  named  to  draft  the  declaration,  two 
were  River  men  —  Ebenezer  Hoisington  of  Windsor,  and 
Jacob  Burton  of  Norwich.  The  entire  territory  of  the 
grants  on  the  west  side  of  the  River  was  declared  by 
unanimous  vote  to  be  "  a  separate,  free,  and  independent 
jurisdiction  or  state,"  and  the  College  party's  name  of  "New 
Connecticut "  was  chosen  for  it. 

By  this  time  the  College  party  nad  succeeded  in  detach- 
ing upward  of  forty  New  Hampshire  towns  from  the 
Exeter  government,  and  the  ''  United-Committees  "  were 
industriously  disseminating  their  doctrine.  The  Exeter 
government  had  made  repeated  attempts  to  allay  the  spirit 
of  discontent,  but  to  no  purpose.  On  the  third  of  January, 
1777,  the  Assembly  named  a  committee,  with  President 
Weare  at  the  head,  to  visit  Grafton  county  and  "  entreat 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut       267 

the  people  to  consider  the  consequences  of  such  internal 
discords  and  divisions  among  ourselves "  at  this  critical 
time.  The  move  was  met  by  a  new  circular  letter  emanat' 
ing  from  the  United-Committees,  presenting  a  plan  of 
campaign  to  the  freeholders.  "  "We  proceed  to  observe," 
ran  this  spirited  document,  "  that  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendency [by  the  American  colonies]  made  the  antecedent 
form  of  government  of  necessity  null  and  void ;  and  by 
that  act  the  people  of  the  different  Colonies  slid  back  into 
a  state  of  nature,  and  in  that  condition  they  were  to  begin 
anew."  Therefore  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  were 
enjoined  to  adhere  to  these  two  important  points  : 

"  (1)  That  you  give  not  up  an  ace  of  the  right  that  the  smallest 
town  has  to  a  distinct  representation  if  incorporated. 

"  (2)  That  as  the  present  Assembly  is  unconstitutional,  being  the 
same  virtually  as  before  the  declaration  of  independency,  they  do 
dissolve  themselves,  after  having  notified  each  corporate  town  to 
form  a  new  body  that  may  fix  on  a  plan  of  government  which  can 
be  the  only  proper  seal  of  your  concurrence  in  independency.  Thus 
you  will  act  a  consistent  part,  and  secure  your  palace  from  being  pil- 
fered within  while  you  are  filling  up  the  breaches  that  are  made 
without." 

The  local  committees  met  President  Weare  and  his  com- 
mittee at  Ord way's  tavern  in  Lebanon,  on  the  thirteenth 
of  February.  It  was  a  notable  assembly  with  twelve  towns 
represented,  and  Eleazer  Wheelock  present  as  a  spectator. 
But  the  discussion  was  fruitless.  The  very  next  day  the 
United-Committees  met  and  the  plan  of  union  with  "  New 
Connecticut"  was  advanced.  Still  the  scheme  was  pru- 
dently kept  in  abeyance  till  after  the  adoption  of  the  plan 
of  government  for  the  new  state. 

On  June  4,  the  Westminster  convention  reassembled 
by  adjournment  in  the  Upper  Valley,  at  Windsor,  with  an 


268  Connecticut  River 

increased  representation  from  the  River  towns,  and  made 
provision  for  a  constitution  for  the  new  state.  The  drafting 
of  the  instrument  was  assigned  to  a  committee  instructed 
to  report  at  a  "  constitutional  convention "  composed  of 
newly  elected  delegates,  to  meet  also  at  Windsor,  on  the 
second  of  July.  At  the  June  meeting  another  act,  en- 
gineered through  by  the  Bennington  party,  was  of  greater 
significance  in  the  game  between  the  parties.  This  was 
the  substitution  of  Vermont  for  New  Connecticut  as  the 
name  of  the  new  state.  The  reason  given  for  dropping 
the  name  of  New  Connecticut  was  its  previous  application 
to  a  district  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  the  incon- 
veniences that  might  arise  from  "two  separate  districts 
on  this  continent"  bearing  the  same  name.  The  real 
motive  was  evidently  the  desire  of  the  Bennington  party 
now  to  rid  themselves  of  the  symbol  of  a  union  with  the 
College  party's  venture  and  consequent  conflict  with  New 
Hampshire. 

However,  undismayed  by  this  check,  the  Dresden  states- 
men moved  onward  with  their  plans.  A  week  after  the 
June  Windsor  convention  the  United-Committees  met  at  the 
house  of  Captain  Aaron  Storrs  in  Hanover  and  adopted  an 
Address  to  the  Exeter  Assembly  embodying  their  ultimatum. 
The  disaffected  towns  were  willing  to  unite  with  New 
Hampshire  on  these  principles  only  :  liberty  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  every  town  to  elect  at  least  one  representative ;  the 
fixing  of  the  seat  of  government  as  near  the  center  of  the 
state  as  conveniently  might  be ;  and  the  submission  of 
the  matter  of  further  establishing  a  permanent  plan  of 
government  to  an  Assembly  "  convened  as  aforesaid,  and 
for  that  purpose  only."  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
present  the  Address  at  Exeter,  but  the  pressure  of  war 
affairs  prevented  their  doing  so  at  this  time. 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut      269 

The  new  Vermont  "  constitutional  convention,"  called 
for  July  2,  assembled  at  Windsor  on  that  date  in  the  heat 
of  Burgoyne's  advance,  several  of  the  delegates  coming 
direct  from  service  with  the  militia  in  the  field  The  busi- 
ness, therefore,  was  of  necessity  hurriedly  despatched,  yet 
with  no  lack  of  formality  and  deliberation.  The  attendance 
was  small  but  influential.  Many  of  the  delegates  had  been 
members  of  the  June  convention.  The  proceedings  began 
in  the  meeting-house,  where  that  convention  had  sat,  but 
a  removal  was  soon  made  to  the  village  tavern.  Here  all 
the  important  acts  of  the  little  body  were  performed,  and 
in  commemoration  of  them  and  of  subsequent  sittings  of 
the  General  Assembly  in  its  "  large  room,"  the  building 
came  to  be  called  "  Constitution  Hall."  It  yet  stands,  or 
a  remnant  of  it  —  off  the  street  leading  up  from  the  present 
railroad  station  —  but  long  ago  shorn  of  its  glory  and  re- 
duced to  humble  service  as  a  wheelwright's  shop. 

The  story  of  this  convention,  which  so  fairly  launched 
Vermont  "  amidst  the  tumults  of  war,"  is  one  of  the  most 
animated  of  the  many  romances  of  the  beautiful  Valley. 

Before  opening  their  business  the  delegates  gathered  in 
the  meeting-house  and  listened  to  a  "  convention  sermon." 
The  preacher  was  the  Rev.  Aaron  Hutchinson  of  Pomfret, 
adjoining  the  Vermont  Hartford  on  the  River,  a  man  of 
unique  distinction  in  the  community.  He  was  a  classical 
scholar  of  high  rank,  a  preparer  of  youth  for  college,  and 
it  was  his  custom  to  teach  Latin  and  Greek  while  at  work 
in  the  fields,  his  pupils  being  required  to  follow  him  as  he 
followed  the  plow.  With  other  remarkable  talents  he  pos- 
sessed a  prodigious  memory.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he 
"often  went  through  the  whole  pulpit  service  without 
opening  a  book  of  any  kind,  appointing  and  reciting  the 
hymns,  as  well  as  quoting  the  scriptures,with  entire  reliance 


270  Connecticut  River 

on  his  memory,  and  without  mistake."  The  theme  of 
his  convention  sermon  was  "  A  well-tempered  self-love  a 
rule  of  conduct  toward  others."  It  was  delivered  extem- 
poraneously, after  a  horseback  ride  from  his  distant  home 
on  the  hot  July  morning.  It  was  afterward  put  into  type, 
and  a  copy  of  it  is  treasured  by  the  Vermont  Historical 
Society.  Following  the  sermon  came  a  prayer.  Then  a 
Watts  hymn,  "  The  Universal  Law  of  Equity,"  was  sung ; 
and  then  the  assembly  arose  and  all  blended  their  stalwart 
voices  in  the  Doxology. 

The  proceedings  in  the  tavern  hall  had  barely  started 
when  an  "  express  "  broke  in  upon  them  with  an  alarming 
message  from  Colonel  Seth  Warner  at  Rutland.  It  an- 
nounced the  advance  of  Burgoyne  upon  Ticonderoga  and 
called  for  assistance.  "  I  am  at  this  moment,"  the  despatch 
wound  up,  "  a  going  to  mount  my  horse  in  company  with 
Colonel  Bellows  for  Ticonderoga."  The  business  in  hand 
was  instantly  dropped  and  measures  put  in  operation  for  hur- 
rying forward  men  and  provisions  to  the  beleaguered  post. 
Orders  went  out  to  start  on  the  march  what  remained  of 
the  militia  not  already  with  the  officer  commanding  the 
Continental  Army  there.  A  fresh  express  was  hastened  off 
to  Exeter  with  a  copy  of  Warner's  message  to  the  New 
Hampshire  Assembly,  then  also  in  session,  and  a  letter 
from  the  convention  detailing  what  they  were  doing  in  the 
emergency,  with  the  suggestive  observation  that  "every 
prudent  step  ought  to  be  taken  for  the  relief  of  our  friends  " 
at  the  front. 

These  exciting  matters  disposed  of,  the  regular  business 
was  resumed  by  the  members  with  fine  composure.  The 
draft  of  the  constitution  was  taken  up  and  considered  para- 
graph by  paragraph  through  nearly  four  days'  sittings,  or 
tiU  the  eighth  of   July.     Then   came  another  and  more 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut      271 

startling  interruption  which  threw  the  body  into  confusion. 
An  express  direct  from  the  field  clattered  up  to  the  tavern, 
bringing  a  message  from  General  St.  Clair  which  announced 
the  fateful  events  of  the  evacuation  of  Ticonderoga  on  the 
morning  of  the  sixth,  the  British  pursuit  of  the  retreating 
Americans,  and  the  attack  on  the  morning  of  the  seventh 
upon  Warner  at  Hubbardton,  the  disastrous  result  of  which 
was  not  known  at  the  time  of  writing. 

In  the  line  of  the  triumphant  enemy's  march  were  the 
homes  of  many  of  the  members,  and  the  first  impulse, 
strong  especially  in  the  delegates  from  the  western  towns, 
was  immediately  to  adjourn  and  fly  to  the  common  defence. 
As  they  were  debating,  suddenly  there  broke  upon  the  town 
a  furious  thunderstorm  which  compelled  all  to  keep  the 
tavern's  shelter  for  a  time.  While  they  waited  they  con- 
tinued their  work,  and  the  interval  was  sufficient  to  enable 
them  properly  and  fully  to  complete  it.  The  constitution 
as  finally  fixed  was  rapidly  read  and  adopted  unanimously ; 
an  election  was  ordered  for  December  when  representatives 
should  be  chosen  to  the  first  General  Assembly,  which  was 
appointed  to  meet  at  Bennington  in  January ;  a  committee 
was  named  to  procure  a  supply  of  arms  for  the  new  state ; 
and  a  Council  of  Safety  was  instituted  to  administer  its 
affairs  till  the  state  should  be  duly  organized.  Then  in  the 
clearing  of  the  storm  the  delegates,  their  civic  work  done, 
immediately  scattered  for  the  work  of  war. 

The  constitution  was  modelled  after  that  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Benjamin  Franklin's  work,  and  was  a  pretty  close 
copy.  But  the  delegates  added  to  the  first  section  of  the 
declaration  of  rights  that  clause,  all  their  own,  which  gave 
Vermont  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  of  the  American 
states  to  aboHsh  slavery  by  constitutional  act.  Thus  to  the 
Connecticut  Valley  is  to  be  credited  another  great  step  in 
democracy. 


272  Connecticut  River 

The  College  party,  after  the  issue  of  their  "  ultimatum  " 
in  June,  remained  inactive  during  the  rest  of  this  troublous 
summer  of  1777.  But  in  October,  at  a  meeting  in  John 
Payne's  tavern  at  Hanover,  they  appointed  a  new  committee 
to  lay  that  document  before  the  Assembly  then  in  session 
at  Exeter.  In  November  the  Assembly  made  reply.  The 
existing  government  and  representation,  it  was  agreed, 
were  "far  from  perfect,"  but  would  answer  for  "the  present 
purposes  of  our  grand  concern  "  —  the  war ;  the  Assembly 
were  in  "  full  sentiment "  that  so  soon  as  the  circumstances 
of  the  war  would  admit,  a  free  and  equal  representation  of 
the  people  should  convene  and  form  a  permanent  system. 
Though  conciliatory,  this  failed  to  satisfy.  At  the  next 
session,  which  began  in  December,  the  Assembly  took  an- 
other tack.  It  was  now  proposed  that  the  towns  should, 
if  they  saw  fit,  at  the  next  ensuing  election  instruct  their 
representatives  to  call  a  constitutional  convention,  to  be 
chosen  by  a  full  and  free  vote,  at  once  to  frame  a  permanent 
form  of  government. 

These  concessions  were  more  effective,  and  perceptibly 
weakened  the  College  statesmen's  hold  on  their  constituents. 
In  this  emergency  they  again  resorted  to  the  printing  press. 
Their  issue  at  this  time,  bearing  date  of  January  6,  1778, 
was  the  now  rare  pamphlet  entitled,  "  Observations  on  the 
Right  of  Jurisdiction  claimed  by  the  States  of  New  York 
and  New  Hampshire  over  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  (so 
called)  lying  on  both  sides  of  Connecticut-River :  In  a  Letter 
addressed  to  the  Inhabitants  of  said  Grants."  The  essay 
presented  a  concise  historical  statement  of  the  origin  of  the 
jurisdiction,  with  a  masterly  argument  in  support  of  the 
right  and  the  "  expediency  "  of  the  grants  on  both  sides  of 
the  River  to  unite  under  one  government.  It  was  so  skill- 
fully framed  as  to  apply  either  to  a  union  of  the  east  side 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut     273 

towns  with  the  new  Vermont,  or  to  an  independent  con- 
federation of  east  and  west  side  towns  whose  centre  and 
capital  should  be  "  Dresden."  So  the  way  was  cleared  for 
action. 

Now  followed  a  series  of  bold  moves  and  counter-moves 
which  kept  the  community  on  both  sides  of  the  River  in  a 
lively  state  of  commotion  for  a  considerable  time. 

The  Vermont  constitutional  convention  reassembled 
again  at  Windsor  in  a  brief  session  on  December  24,  and 
on  account  of  the  war  troubles  postponed  the  election  called 
for  that  date  to  the  first  of  March,  1778,  and  advanced  the 
day  of  meeting  of  the  first  Assembly  to  the  tweKth  of  March. 
The  place  of  meeting  was  also  changed  from  Bennington 
to  Windsor,  perhaps  through  the  influence  of  the  College 
men.  A  month  before  the  day  appointed  for  the  coming 
in  of  this  Assembly  the  United-Committees  met  in  Cornish, 
at  Moses  Chase's  house,  and  evidently  considered  the  de- 
tails of  a  scheme  of  union  with  the  new  state  of  all  the 
New  Hampshire  towns  between  the  River  and  the  line  of 
the  Mason  Grant,  twenty  miles  east  of  it.  To  the  eleven 
towns  originally  constituting  the  United-Committees'  con- 
stituency five  had  been  added,  three  of  them  River  towns 
—  Cornish,  Piermont,  and  Lyman. 

When  on  March  12  the  new  Assembly  convened  the 
United-Committees  were  in  session  conveniently  across 
the  River  at  Cornish,  primed  for  action.  Promptly  upon  the 
organization  of  the  state  in  Windsor's  "  Constitution  Hall " 
with  the  election  of  officers,  they  sent  over  a  delegation 
bearing  a  petition  for  the  admission  of  their  sixteen  east 
side  towns,  and  all  others  on  the  grants  east  of  the  River 
that  might  be  desirous  of  such  union  ;  with  the  allegation 
that  the  sixteen  were  "  not  connected  with  any  state 
with  respect  to  their  internal  police."    The  proposition  was 


274  Connecticut  Kiver 

received  with  marked  disfavor  by  the  Bennington  party, 
and  they  brought  about  its  rejection  a  day  or  two  after  by 
a  decisive  vote.  But  at  this  the  representatives  from  most 
of  the  west  side  River  towns  threatened  to  withdraw  and 
unite  with  the  east-siders  in  forming  a  new  state.  There- 
upon the  adverse  vote  was  rescinded,  and  the  Assembly 
finally  referred  the  decision  of  the  question  to  the  people. 

The  popular  vote  was  taken  by  towns  after  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Assembly,  and  reported  at  the  next  session, 
which  met  at  Bennington  the  following  June.  Forty-seven 
towns  made  returns.  Thirty-five  favored  the  union,  twelve 
opposed  it.  The  Bennington  party  protested  that  the  towns 
had  voted  under  a  misapprehension,  and  charged  the  Col- 
lege party  with  having  wilfully  spread  the  impression  that 
New  Hampshire  was  indifferent  to  the  movement.  The 
Benningtonians  were  also  at  a  disadvantage,  since  the 
larger  part  of  the  towns  west  of  the  mountains  had  been 
abandoned  at  the  time  of  Burgoyne's  advance  and  were  not 
yet  in  condition  to  vote.  The  opposition,  however,  accepted 
the  situation,  and  on  June  11  the  sixteen  east  side  towns 
were  formally  admitted  into  the  Vermont  fold.  Notifica- 
tion was  also  made  to  the  contiguous  towns  that  they 
would  be  similarly  received  upon  a  vote  of  the  major  part 
of  their  inhabitants  in  favor  of  union. 

The  College  party  now  began  to  exercise  a  directing 
hand  in  the  further  shaping  of  the  state.  On  June  15 
Dartmouth  College  was  taken  under  the  patronage  of  Ver- 
mont. President  Eleazer  Wheelock  was  commissioned  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  Bezaleel  Woodward  was  appointed 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  superior  court  ""  for  the  banishment 
of  tories  &c."  With  the  College  statesmen's  plans  at  last 
apparently  prospering,  this  session  adjourned,  the  next 
Assembly  to  meet  again  at  Windsor,  in  October. 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut     275 

During  the  interval  between  these  sittings,  however, 
moves  were  made  by  the  opposition  which  were  to  turn 
the  game. 

Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Bennington  ses- 
sion the  United-Committees  met  in  Orford,  at  the  house  of 
Colonel  Morey,  and  prepared  a  series  of  instructions  for  the 
conduct  of  the  east  side  towns  that  had  accepted  the  union 
with  Vermont.  They  were  to  obey  all  military  orders 
emanating  from  Vermont,  but  were  to  cooperate  with  the 
New  Hampshire  militia  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
common  defence.  A  letter  was  also  despatched  to  Presi- 
dent Weare  announcing  the  separation  of  these  towns  from 
New  Hampshire ;  and,  with  a  suavity  under  the  circum- 
stances sublime,  expressing  the  hope  that  an  "  amicable 
settlement  may  be  come  into  at  a  proper  time  between  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  and  those  towns  on  the  grants 
that  unite  with  the  State  of  Vermont  relative  to  all  civil 
and  military  affairs  transacted  in  connection  with  the  State 
of  New  Hampshire  since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
war  to  the  time  of  the  union,  so  that  amity  and  friendship 
may  subsist  and  continue  between  the  two  states."  But 
the  studied  courtesy  of  this  communication  instead  of  soft- 
ening incensed  the  Exeter  party,  and  their  batteries  were 
turned  hotly  beyond  the  College  party  against  the  new 
state. 

The  hostilities  warmed  up  with  the  sending  in  August 
of  two  stirring  letters  from  President  Weare,  one  to  the 
New  Hampshire  delegates  in  the  Continental  Congress, 
the  other  to  Governor  Chittenden.  In  the  letter  to  the 
delegates  he  told  caustically  of  the  action  of  the  "  pretended 
State  of  Vermont  "  in  extending  "  their  pretended  jurisdic- 
tion" over  the  Connecticut  and  ''taking  into  union,  as 
they  phrase  it,"  the  towns  belonging  to  New  Hampshire ; 


276  Connecticut  River 

and  he  urged  the  delegates  to  endeavor  to  induce  Congress 
to  interfere,  otherwise  the  sword  might  have  to  decide  the 
matter.  To  Governor  Chittenden,  whom  he  addressed  not 
in  that  gentleman's  "  magistratical  style,"  since  Vermont 
had  not  been  admitted  into  the  confederacy  of  the  United 
States,  he  represented  the  assumption  that  the  sixteen  towns 
were  not  connected  with  any  state  in  respect  to  their  in- 
ternal police,  to  be  "  an  idle  phantom,  a  mere  chimera." 
The  "town  of  Boston  in  Massachusetts,  or  Hartford  in 
Connecticut,"  he  indignantly  declared,  "might  as  naturally 
evince  their  being  unconnected  with  their  respective  states 
as  these  sixteen  towns  their  not  being  connected  with  New 
Hampshire."  He  besought  Mr.  Chittenden  to  exert  his 
influence  to  undo  the  work. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter  the  Vermont  governor 
convoked  the  coimcil,  and  at  the  instance  of  the  Bennington 
party,  Ethan  Allen  was  despatched  upon  a  semi-official 
mission  to  Philadelphia  to  "  ascertain  in  what  light  the 
proceedings  of  Vermont  were  viewed  by  Congress."  Allen 
arriving  in  Philadelphia  in  September,  found  the  delegates 
from  New  Hampshire  and  New  York  combined  in  a  common 
effort  to  crush  the  new  state.  He  succeeded  in  winning  over 
the  New  Hampshire  delegates  by  entering  into  a  compact 
with  them,  under  which  he  stipulated  to  use  his  influence 
to  dissolve  the  union  with  the  towns  east  of  the  Connecticut, 
they  agreeing,  if  this  were  done,  to  break  with  New  York 
and  assist  Vermont  in  procuring  the  recognition  of  Con- 
gress. Then  he  hastened  back  to  plan  for  carrying  out 
his  part  of  the  bargain  as  speedily  as  possible. 

When  the  Assembly  convened  in  Windsor  for  the  Oc- 
tober session,  representatives  from  ten  of  the  sixteen  east 
side  towns  appeared  and  took  their  seats.  The  College 
party  were  sufficiently  strong  to  elect  Bezaleel  Woodward, 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut     277 

who  sat  for  Dresden,  as  clerk  of  the  House.  On  the  se- 
cond day  Ethan  Allen's  report  was  put  in.  It  was  em- 
phatic in  the  expression  of  his  conviction,  from  what  he 
had  heard  of  the  disapprobation  of  the  union  with  "sundry 
towns  east  of  the  River  Connecticut,"  that  unless  the  state 
immediately  receded  from  such  union,  "  the  whole  power 
of  the  confederacy  of  the  United  States  of  America  "  would 
join  to  annihilate  Vermont.  Congress,  he  confidently  as- 
serted, was  ready  to  concede  her  independence  provided  no 
claim  was  made  to  jurisdiction  east  of  the  River. 

With  this  report  President  Weare's  August  letter  to 
Governor  Chittenden  was  taken  up  and  the  union  was 
under  consideration  in  committee  of  the  whole,  joined  by 
the  governor  and  council,  for  nearly  a  fortnight.  The 
Bennington  party  bent  their  energies  to  break  it,  while  the 
College  party  ably  sustained  it.  Of  a  committee  appointed 
to  outline  a  plan  to  "  lay  the  foundation  "  for  an  answer  to 
President  Weare,  the  College  party  had  the  majority. 
They  carried  through  a  report  announcing  the  Assembly's 
determination  "  in  every  prudent  and  lawful  way  to  main- 
tain and  support  entire  the  state  as  it  now  stands  " ;  and 
coolly  proposing  to  the  Exeter  government  a  plan  for  estab- 
lishing the  Mason  line  as  the  boundary  line  between  New 
Hampshire  and  Vermont.  The  report  made  provision 
for  the  drafting  by  a  sub-committee,  which  they  named,  of 
a  "Declaration,"  setting  forth  the  political  state  of  the 
grants  on  both  sides  of  the  River  from  the  time  of  their 
original  issue. 

To  this  point  the  Bennington  party  had  been  outma- 
noeuvred by  the  College  statesmen.  But  the  day  after  the 
adoption  of  the  report  (October  21)  the  Benningtonians 
succeeded  in  executing  a  flank  movement  which  brought 
affairs  to  a  crisis  with  the  advantage  on  their  side.     This 


278  Connecticut  Riv  er 

movement  was  the  defeat  of  the  College  party's  measure 
for  erecting  the  east  side  towns  into  a  county  by  them- 
selves, or  annexing  them  to  one  of  the  west  side  counties. 
Thus  these  towns  were  summarily  deprived  of  the  exercise 
of  any  jurisdictional  power,  and  denied  the  same  "  privileges 
and  immunities  "  enjoyed  by  the  other  towns  of  the  state, 
as  guaranteed  them  by  the  act  of  union.  Thereupon  their 
representatives  bolted.  Entering  a  formal  protest  against 
the  proceeding  on  the  ground  that  it  violated  the  Vermont 
constitution  and  "totally  destroyed  the  confederation  of 
the  state,"  they  all  walked  out  from  the  Assembly.  And 
with  them  went  the  representatives  of  ten  border  towns  on 
the  west  side,  two  members  of  the  council,  and  the  deputy 
or  lieutenant  governor,  Colonel  Joseph  Marsh  of  the  Ver- 
mont Hartford.  So  the  Assembly  was  left  with  barely  a 
quorum,  but  the  Bennington  party  in  full  control. 

The  Bennington  party  artfully  interpreted  the  protest 
and  withdrawal  as  virtually  a  dissolution  of  the  union,  thus 
accomplishing  their  object.  The  next  day,  October  23, 
was  devoted  to  much  writing  of  messages  to  outside  author- 
ities. Governor  Chittenden  and  Ethan  Allen  prepared  let- 
ters to  President  Weare,  while  the  "  Protesting  Members," 
as  the  bolters  designated  themselves,  drew  up  a  presenta- 
tion of  their  side  to  the  president  of  Congress.  Governor 
Chittenden's  letter  represented  the  Assembly's  vote  on  the 
county  matter  as  actually  a  resolve  that  "  no  additional 
exercise  of  jurisdictional  authority  be  had  by  the  state  east 
of  Connecticut  River  for  the  time  being."  Colonel  Allen 
wrote  more  spiritedly.  The  union,  brought  about  "  inad- 
vertently by  influence  of  designing  men,"  was  in  his  opinion 
now  entirely  dissolved,  and  he  hoped  the  New  Hampshire 
government  would  excuse  the  "  imbecility "  of  Vermont 
in  entering  into  it.     He   had  punctually  discharged  his 


Dartmouth  College  and  New  Connecticut     279 

obligation  with  the  delegates  in  Congress  for  its  demolition. 
Now  he  looked  to  New  Hampshire  to  complete  the  bargain 
by  acceding  to  the  independence  of  Vermont,  "  as  the  late 
obstacles  are  honorably  removed."  Both  of  these  letters 
were  despatched  to  Exeter  by  Ira  Allen,  Ethan's  able  and 
more  diplomatic  younger  brother,  well  up  to  the  measure 
of  a  great  statesman.  The  letter  of  the  "  Protesting  Mem- 
bers "  to  President  Laurens  was  intended  mainly  to  fore- 
stall possible  acknowledgment  of  Vermont  with  her  eastern 
boundary  at  the  River.  It  was  forwarded  by  John  Whee- 
lock,  now  made  Colonel,  for  service  in  the  war,  and  virtually 
accredited  by  the  protestants  as  their  agent  to  Congress. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  the  few  representatives  left  in  the 
Assembly  finished  up  the  remaining  business,  and  after 
making  provision  for  ascertaining  the  sense  of  the  people 
upon  the  subject  of  the  union,  adjourned  to  meet  next  at 
Bennington  in  February  (1779).  On  the  same  day  the 
Protesting  Members,  now  organized  after  the  manner  of 
the  United-Committees,  were  planning  to  assemble  a  con- 
vention at  Cornish  on  the  ninth  of  December  (1778)  of 
delegates  from  all  the  towns  on  the  Grants. 

A  brave  move  was  now  to  be  made  by  the  scholars  in 
politics.  The  purpose  of  this  convention  was  practically 
to  take  measures  for  the  formation  of  a  new  state  of  the 
towns  on  both  sides  of  the  River,  and  to  supplant  Vermont. 


XX 

The  Play  for  a  State 

The  College  Party's  Strategic  Moves  —  New  Hampshire  extending  Jurisdiction 
over  Vermont's  Territory  —  Clashes  in  West  Side  River  Towns  between 
Vermont  Ofl&cers  and  "Yorkers"  —  Ethan  Allen  and  his  "  Green  Moun- 
tain Boys  "  on  the  Scene  —  A  Trial  in  Westminster  Court-House  —  Con- 
gress and  the  Contesting  Interests  —  New  Combinations  in  the  Valley  — 
Ira  Allen's  clever  Capture  of  a  Convention  —  East -side  Towns  again  united 
with  Vermont  —  Disturbances  in  River  border  Towns —  Final  Move  of  the 
Benningtonians  —  Passing  of  the  College  Party. 

TO  prepare  the  way  for  their  Cornish  convention  of 
December,  1778,  and  the  supplanting  of  Vermont  by 
a  new  state  in  the  Valley,  the  College  statesmen  issued  a 
new  address,  the  most  elaborate  of  all  their  essays.  This 
was  the  famous  state  paper,  "A  Public  Defence  of  the 
Rights  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  (so  called)  on  Both 
Sides  of  Connecticut-River  to  Associate  Together  and  form 
themselves  into  an  Independent  State."  It  was  deliber- 
ately put  forth  as  the  "Declaration"  called  for  in  the  re- 
port adopted  by  the  October  Vermont  Assembly  before  the 
bolt  of  the  "  Protesting  Members,"  and  purported  to  be  the 
work  of  the  "  major  part  of  the  committee  appointed  for 
that  purpose."  The  "  major  part "  comprised  the  bolting 
College  party  leaders. 

Questionable  as  the  manner  of  putting  it  forth  may 
have  been,  it  was  a  document  ranking  with  the  ablest  state 
papers  of  the  period,  and  it  has  become  of  distinct  historical 
value. 

It  discussed  with  lucidness  the  fundamental  principles 

280 


The  Play  for  a  State  281 

of  free  government  which  the  republican  statesmen  of  that 
day  were  advancing  in  the  colonies.  It  marked  sharply 
the  distinction  between  the  charter  governments  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut  and  the  government  of  New 
Hampshire  by  royal  commission,  upon  which  distinction 
from  the  beginning  the  College  men  had  grounded  the  right 
of  the  grants  to  stand  out  from  New  Hampshire  when  the 
king's  authority  was  thrown  off.  Unlike  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut,  whose  people  were  "  held  together  and 
imited  by  Grants  and  Charters  from  the  king  conferring 
both  landed  property  and  jurisdiction,  which  the  king 
could  not  constitutionally  alter,"  New  Hampshire,  outside 
the  Mason  Grant,  "  never  owned  an  inch  of  land  or  farth- 
ing of  property.  Neither  could  they  even  as  much  as  grant 
a  town  incorporation ;  nor  had  they  right  or  voice  in  the 
matter.  In  short,  they  never  were  a  body  politic  in  any 
legal  sense  whatever ;  nor  anything  more  than  a  number 
of  people  subjected  to  the  obedience  of  the  king's  servant 
(the  governor)  in  such  way  as  his  commission  prescribed." 
With  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  royal  commis- 
sion became  "  a  mere  nullity."  When  the  power  of  the 
king  was  rejected  and  ceased  to  operate,  — 

"  the  people  made  a  stand  at  their  first  legal  stage,  viz.,  their  town 
incorporations,  which  they  received  from  the  king  as  little  Grants  or 
Charters  of  privileges  by  which  they  were  united  in  little  incorpor- 
ated bodies  with  certain  powers  and  privileges  which  were  not  held 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  king  (as  those  commissions  were)  but  were 
perpetual.  These  the  people  by  imiversal  consent  held  sacred  ;  and 
so  long  as  they  hold  these  grants  so  long  do  they  hold  themselves 
subjects  of  government  according  to  them ;  and  as  such  must  and 
do  they  act,  and  transact  all  heir  political  affairs.  Hence  it  is  that 
the  major  part  of  one  of  those  towns  have  a  right  to  control  the 
minor  part.  .  .  .  Consequently  they  will  remain  so  many  distinct 
corporatioDB  until  they  agree  to  unite  in  one  aggregate  body ...  as 


282  Connecticut  River 

much  as  the  thirteen  United  States  were  before  they  entered  into  a 
confederacy." 

Thus  President  Weare's  assertion  that  the  seceding  sixteen 
towns  could  no  more  claim  to  be  unconnected  with  any 
state  than  could  Boston  in  Massachusetts  or  Hartford  in 
Connecticut,  was  met  and  answered.  Other  arguments  of 
the  Exeter  government  were  as  successfully  controverted, 
and  the  Defence  concluded  with  these  alternative  proposi- 
tions to  New  Hampshire  :  to  unite  all  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  in  one  state  by  themselves,  or  to  annex  the  whole 
to  New  Hampshire.  The  adoption  of  either  would  be  likely 
to  bring  the  seat  of  government  to  the  Valley  and  the 
College  neighborhood  and  thus  realize  the  desires  of  the 
College  party. 

When  the  Cornish  convention  assembled  at  Samuel 
Chase's  house  on  the  appointed  day,  it  appeared  that  twen- 
ty-two towns  were  represented.  Eight  of  these  were  towns 
west  of  the  River.  All  were  the  most  populous  and  influ- 
ential in  their  respective  counties.  The  only  record  of  the 
proceedings  is  a  series  of  resolves  as  adopted,  printed  at  the 
back  of  the  pamphlet  containing  the  '"'Public  Defence." 
These  resolves,  however,  sufficiently  indicate  the  radical 
nature  of  the  action  taken.  They  approved  the  "  Public 
Defence"  and  adopted  its  principles.  They  rejected  the 
line  of  the  River,  arbitrarily  fixed  by  the  king  in  1764,  as 
a  boundary  between  separate  jurisdictions.  They  assumed 
that  the  Vermont  Assembly's  act  of  October  21  on  the 
county  matter  effectually  destroyed  the  Windsor  consti- 
tution, and  involved  the  dissolution  of  the  Vermont  con- 
federation of  towns.  They  provided  that  the  towns  not 
represented  in  the  convention  be  requested  to  join  the  body 
in  proposals  to  New  Hampshire  for  the  settlement  of  the 


The  Play  for  a  State  283 

boundary  line  between  that  state  and  the  grants  at  or  near 
the  Mason  line.  Should  the  Vermont  towns  not  agree  to 
this,  then  efforts  would  be  made  to  induce  New  Hampshire 
to  claim  jurisdiction  over  the  entire  grants  provided  a  plan 
of  government  was  adopted  agreeable  to  the  views  of  the 
people  on  them.  Meanwhile,  the  resolves  significantly 
closed,  till  one  or  the  other  of  these  proposals  should  be 
accepted,  the  "United  Towns,"  as  the  combination  was 
now  styled,  would  "  trust  in  Providence  and  defend  them- 
selves." 

The  Bennington  party  moved  energetically  to  thwart 
these  schemes.  Ira  Allen,  who,  as  he  wrote,  "  providen- 
tially happened"  at  the  Cornish  convention,  immediately 
sent  an  account  of  it  to  President  Weare  in  a  letter  from 
Windsor,  with  his  assurance  that  the  incoming  Assembly 
of  Vermont  would  not  countenance  an  encroachment  on  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire,  and  the  intimation  that  any  at- 
tempt on  New  Hampshire's  part  to  extend  her  "  ancient 
jurisdiction  "  west  of  the  River  would  be  resisted.  He  had 
already  issued  from  Dresden,  the  heart  of  the  College 
party,  an  address  to  the  west  side  people  recounting  the 
reasons  which  should  determine  them  to  adhere  to  the 
Vermont  government  as  then  constituted.  The  Dresden 
leaders  of  the  "United  Towns"  as  sedulously  pursued  their 
cause,  exerting  their  best  endeavors  to  bring  the  same  west 
side  towns  to  their  propositions. 

The  Benningtonians,  however,  easily  won,  and  when 
the  General  Assembly  came  in  at  Bennington,  February 
11, 1779,  a  clear  majority  of  the  representatives  were  found 
to  be  instructed  to  vote  for  recession  from  the  union  with 
the  sixteen  east  side  towns.  Accordingly  the  matter  was 
taken  up  with  the  first  business,  and  on  the  second  day 
a  committee  had  reported  and  the  Assembly  had  voted 


284  Connecticut  River 

formally  to  dissolve  "  said  union  "  and  make  it  "  totally 
void,  null  and  extinct." 

With  this  action  the  committee  of  the  Cornish  conven- 
tion were  driven  to  the  alternative  of  inducing  New  Hamp- 
shire to  assert  her  old  jurisdiction  over  all  the  grants  as 
before  the  royal  decree  of  1764,  and  so  wipe  out  Vermont. 
This  proposition  was  immediately  pushed,  notwithstanding 
its  conflict  with  the  theory,  all  along  so  stoutly  maintained, 
in  justification  of  the  secession  of  the  sixteen  towns.  In 
March  General  Bailey  and  Captain  Davenport  Phelps  at 
Newbury,  as  a  sub-committee,  or  agents,  embodied  the  pro- 
posal in  a  skilfully  drawn  petition  to  the  Exeter  govern- 
ment. Later,  in  March,  Ira  Allen,  appearing  at  Exeter 
with  Governor  Chittenden's  report  of  the  dissolution  of  the 
union,  found  the  project  making  dangerous  progress  there. 
Strong  efforts  were  exerted  to  head  it  off,  but  without  suc- 
cess. It  however  entered  the  House  in  a  mutilated  form. 
The  committee  to  whom  it  had  been  referred  reported  that 
the  state  should  lay  claim  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  whole 
of  the  grants  lying  westward  of  the  River,  but  ''allowing 
and  conceding,  nevertheless,  that  if  the  honorable  Conti- 
nental Congress  "  should  permit  them  to  be  a  separate  state, 
"  as  now  claimed  by  some  of  the  inhabitants  thereof  by  the 
name  of  Vermont,"  New  Hampshire  would  acquiesce 
therein.  Meanwhile,  until  the  dispute  were  settled  by 
Congress,  New  Hampshire  should  exercise  jurisdiction  only 
so  far  as  the  western  bank  of  the  River.  Action  on  this 
report  was  prudently  reserved  till  ithe  following  session 
in  June,  and  the  Cornish  committee  were  requested  to  col- 
lect in  the  interim  the  sentiments  of  the  people  west  of  the 
River  in  town- votes  on  their  proposition.  Accordingly  the 
Cornish  committee  proceeded  industriously  to  canvass  the 
Vermont  towns  through  handbills  and  circular  letters  sent 
out  from  Dresden. 


The  Play  for  a  State  285 

These  moves  naturally  incensed  the  Bennington  party 
and  they  were  put  to  their  mettle  to  offset  them.  At  the 
same  time  other  perils  which  threatened  Vermont's  exist- 
ence engaged  the  Benningtonians.  Massachusetts  had  now 
joined  Vermont's  opponents  with  a  claim  to  a  part  of  her 
territory.  In  April  and  May  lively  events  on  the  River 
border  of  Cumberland  County  added  a  new  impulse  to  the 
controversy  with  New  York. 

In  this  quarter  a  strong  minority  party,  in  which  were 
included  some  of  the  foremost  men  of  means  and  influence 
in  the  towns,  had  steadfastly  resisted  the  authority  of  Ver- 
mont, remaining  loyal  to  New  York.  They  had  formed 
their  own  committees  of  safety  and  in  the  spring  of  this 
year  (1779)  a  militia  company  had  been  organized  among 
them  with  officers  commissioned  by  Governor  Clinton  of 
New  York.  When,  in  April,  the  Vermont  board  of  war 
directed  a  levy  of  men  for  service  in  guarding  the  frontier, 
certain  of  these  townsmen,  known  to  be  active  friends  of 
New  York,  refused  their  quota.  Clashes  followed  between 
-the  recruiting  officers  and  these  "  Yorkers."  An  act  in 
Putney  especially  incensed  the  "  Yorkers."  A  Vermont 
sergeant  there  levied  upon  some  cows  belonging  to  delin- 
quents and  posted  them  for  sale.  Before  the  appointed  day 
a  rescue  was  affected  by  a  band  of  a  hundred  men  under  a 
New  York  commissioned  colonel.  On  the  fourth  of  May 
representatives  of  the  malcontents  met  in  convention  at 
Brattleborough  to  confer  on  the  situation.  Among  other 
acts  an  appeal  was  forwarded  to  Governor  Clinton  for  pro- 
tection in  their  persons  and  properties  from  the  repeated 
assaults  of  the  Vermont  partisans.  In  the  meantime  the 
Vermont  government  had  acted  aggressively  in  directing 
Ethan  Allen  to  march  into  the  county  to  assist  the  sheriff 
in  the  execution  of  his  orders. 


286  Connecticut  River 

Promptly  the  doughty  warrior  appeared  on  the  scene 
with  his  "  Green  Mountain  Boys."  Forty  or  more  of  the 
"Yorkers"  against  whom  warrants,  signed  by  Ira  Allen, 
had  been  issued,  charging  "  enemical  conduct"  in  opposing 
the  authority  of  Vermont,  were  arrested  and  taken  to  West- 
minster, where  they  were  closely  packed  into  the  rough 
little  jail.  Among  them  were  the  militia  officers  in  Brattle- 
borough,  Putney,  and  Westminster,  from  colonel  to  cap- 
tains, who  had  received  their  commissions  from  New  York. 
Their  trial  took  place  in  the  Westminster  Court  House,  — 
tavern,  jail,  and  court-house  combined, —  the  same  that  was 
the  scene  of  the  first  outbreak  of  an  organized  body  of 
"liberty  men"  more  than  a  month  before  Lexington  and 
Concord  ;  and  where  the  declaration  of  independence  of  the 
grants  was  first  proclaimed :  the  site  of  which,  on  the  old 
King's  Highway  in  this  pastoral  town,  overlooking  the 
limpid  River,  is  now  marked  by  an  inscribed  bowlder. 
Ethan  Allen's  impetuous  attempt  to  stampede  the  court 
was  an  enlivening  incident  of  this  affau\  The  prisoners 
were  finally  condemned  as  rioters  and  fined  in  various  sums. 

Governor  Clinton  replied  to  the  Brattleborough  peti- 
tioners with  good  assurances,  and  the  recommendation  that 
the  authority  of  Vermont  should  in  no  instance  be  ac- 
knowledged ''except  in  the  alternative  of  submission  or 
inevitable  train. "  At  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  the  presi- 
dent of  Congress,  now  John  Jay,  announcing  that  matters 
on  the  grants  were  fast  approaching  a  serious  crisis  which 
"  nothing  but  the  interposition  of  Congress  could  probably 
prevent."  Congress  acted  so  far  as  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  visit  the  grants  and  endeavor  to  promote  an  amicable 
settlement  of  all  differences.  Only  two  of  this  committee, 
however,  made  the  visit,  —  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Witherspoon 
of  New  Jersey,  president  of  Princeton,  and  Samuel  J.  Atlee, 


The  Play  for  a  State  287 

oi  Pennsylvania, —  and  their  several  conferences  at  Ben- 
nington were  without  result. 

Such  was  the  situation  when  the  June  session  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Assembly  came  in  at  Exeter,  and  the  meas- 
ure reported  in  April  was  finally  to  be  acted  upon.  Ira 
Allen  again  appeared  for  the  interests  of  Vermont,  while 
the  Cornish  committee  were  represented  by  Professor  Wood- 
ward and  Colonel  Peter  Olcott,  Woodward's  west  side 
neighbor  of  Norwich.  The  Cornish  men's  canvass  had  been 
unsatisfactory,  for  only  a  few  of  the  Vermont  towns  had 
made  returns ;  but  this  failure  Vv^as  attributed  to  the  work 
of  ''emissaries"  of  the  Bennington  party,  who,  it  was 
charged,  had  intercepted  and  destroyed  many  of  their  cir- 
cular-letters. The  April  proposition  went  through,  and 
thus  formal  claim  was  laid  to  the  whole  of  Vermont  con- 
ditionally. The  measm-e  was  assumed  to  be  aimed  against 
New  York  and  in  fact  friendly  to  Vermont,  since  it  left  her 
free  to  achieve  her  independence  with  the  consent  of  Con- 
gress. But  the  Bennington  party  received  it  with  suspicion 
as  calculated  sooner  or  later  to  vex  Vermont,  as  it  so  proved, 
while  the  College  party  recognized  in  it  virtually  a  defeat 
of  their  move. 

Yet  these  able  and  persistent  statesmen  took  "'  heart  of 
hope,"  and  were  soon  again  found  playing  a  leading  hand. 

In  September  Congress  was  moved  to  another  step  to- 
ward a  settlement  of  the  differences.  The  three  claimants 
—  New  York,  New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts  —  were 
advised  to  pass  laws  expressly  authorizing  Congress  to 
determine  the  whole  case  ;  and  this  done,  they  were  invited, 
together  with  the  people  on  the  grants  "who  claimed  to 
be  a  separate  jurisdiction,"  to  send  agents  to  Philadelphia 
for  a  hearing  on  a  specified  date.  New  York  and  New 
Hampshire  passed  the  enabling  acts,  but  Massachusetts 


288  Connecticut  River 

did  not ;  while  Vermont  appointed  a  committee  empowered 
to  vindicate  her  right  to  independence. 

This  was  the  College  party's  opportunity  for  another 
apparently  shrewd  move.  Although  the  invitation  to  the 
people  on  the  grants  claiming  to  be  a  separate  jurisdiction 
was  intended  definitely  and  only  for  Vermont,  the  College 
party  cleverly  construed  it  to  include  themselves.  Accord- 
ingly, at  a  convention  held  in  Dresden  in  November,  they 
deputed  Professor  Woodward  and  Colonel  Olcott  to  attend 
the  hearing  as  agents  for  the  '*  United  Towns."  They  now 
claimed  to  represent  "  the  greater  part  of  the  towns  in  the 
northern  district "  of  the  grants  "  on  both  sides  of  the  Con- 
necticut River  and  between  the  heights  of  land  on  the  two 
sides."  At  this  stage  the  College  party  were  prepared  to 
join  with  New  York  in  a  plan  to  fix  the  boundary  at  the 
Green  Mountains.  If  New  Hampshire  persisted  in  her 
course  they  might  ultimately  realize  their  hope  of  a  sepa- 
rate state  in  the  Valley. 

On  the  first  of  February,  1780,  the  date  appointed  for 
the  hearing,  the  several  interests  were  all  represented  at 
Philadelphia.  But  the  subject  was  not  then  moved  be- 
cause of  a  deficiency  in  the  Congressional  representation. 
A  succession  of  postponements  followed  till  the  latter  part 
of  September,  when  at  length  the  constitutional  quorum 
were  present.  While  Vermont  had  steadily  denied  the 
authority  of  Congress  to  adjudicate  upon  the  controversy, 
and  had  issued  her  ringing  "  Appeal  to  the  Candid  and 
Impartial  World  "  with  its  announcement  of  her  determina- 
tion not  to  surrender  her  liberties  to  the  arbitrament  of 
"any  man,  or  body  of  men  under  Heaven,"  her  agents  — 
Ira  Allen  and  Stephen  Rowe  Bradley,  of  Westminster,  the 
author  of  the  Appeal  —  were  conspicuous  at  the  fore.  As 
prominent  also  were  Bezaleel  Woodward  and  Peter  Olcott 


The  Play  for  a  State  289 

for  the  College  party.  Luke  Knowlton  of  Newfane,  west 
of  Putney  on  the  River,  bearing  credentials  from  Governor 
Clinton,  was  active  for  the  Cumberland  County  party  loyal 
to  New  York,  with  instructions  to  support  all  the  claims 
of  New  York.  Although  Messrs.  Woodward  and  Olcott 
were  not  accorded  full  official  recognition,  Congress  per- 
mitted them  to  present  a  written  argument  against  any 
division  of  the  grants  with  separate  jurisdictions  by  the 
line  of  the  River. 

The  hearing  continued  through  a  week  and  then  came 
to  an  abrupt  end  with  indefinite  postponement  of  further 
consideration  of  the  subject.  On  the  last  day  the  Vermont 
agents,  having  "perceived  that  in  attempting  to  decide 
upon  the  controversy  between  New  York  and  New  Hamp- 
shire, Congress  was  adjudicating  upon  the  very  existence 
of  Vermont  without  condescending  to  consider  her  as  a 
party,  assuming  that  she  did  not  in  any  sense  possess  the 
attributes  of  sovereignty,"  withdrew  and  filed  a  written 
remonstance.  They  could  no  longer  "  sit  as  idle  specta- 
tors "  and  witness  the  efforts  to  "  intrigue  and  baffle  a 
brave  and  meritorious  people  out  of  their  rights  and  liber- 
ties." After  their  withdrawal,  General  Sullivan,  New 
Hampshire's  agent,  "  proceeded  to  state  evidence  tending 
to  prove  "  that  the  grants  were  all  within  that  state,  and 
that  "  therefore  the  people  inhabiting  them  had  no  right 
to  a  separate  and  independent  jurisdiction."  The  sudden 
termination  of  the  hearing  at  this  point  was  found  to  be  due 
mainly  to  a  disagreement  in  the  New  Hampshire  delega- 
tion over  their  instructions  from  the  Exeter  government 
upon  which  General  Sullivan  had  proceeded.  Sullivan 
himself  was  really  in  accord  with  Colonel  Olcott,  and  ap- 
parently with  Luke  Knowlton,  on  the  plan  for  fixing  the 
boundary  at  the  Green  Mountains. 


290  Connecticut  River 

Although  this  unexpected  turn  once  again  disconcerted 
the  College  men's  plans,  they  received  it  with  complacency, 
and  retiu-ned  to  the  Valley  prepared  for  new  combinations. 
The  Benningtonians,  angered  by  the  pertinacity  exhibited 
by  the  claiming  states,  and  hopeless  of  any  immediate  rec- 
ognition of  Vermont,  proceeded  to  develop  a  policy  which 
would  convince  her  opponents  of  the  wisdom  of  yielding 
"  to  power  what  had  so  long  been  denied  to  the  claims  of 
justice."  So  Slade  in  the  Vermont  State  Papers  phrases 
it,  to  indicate,  in  part,  the  secret  negotiations  now  under 
way  ostensibly  to  detach  Vermont  from  the  United  States 
and  annex  her  to  the  king's  dominion  in  Canada,  but 
really  to  force  her  recognition  by  the  states ;  and,  in  part, 
the  adroit  manoeuverings  of  her  astute  leaders  which 
shortly  resulted  in  the  expansion  of  her  jurisdiction  into 
the  distant  territory  of  the  chief  claimants. 

So  the  parties  shifted  and  the  situation  shaped  itself  for 
the  next  move,  one  of  large  consequence,  in  which  the  su- 
perior skill  of  the  practiced  politician  over  that  of  the 
literary  statesman  was  demonstrated  with  dramatic  and 
with  dazing  effect. 

This  move  at  its  inception  had  for  its  ultimate  object 
the  imion  in  one  political  body  of  all  the  inhabitants  on 
both  sides  of  the  River  between  Mason's  Grant  on  the  east 
side  and  the  Green  Mountains  on  the  west,  —  the  original 
scheme  of  New  Connecticut  contemplated  by  the  College 
Hall  convention  of  1776.  It  made  its  start  from  Cumber- 
land County,  the  party  there,  so  long  adhering  to  New 
York,  wearied  with  their  experiences,  being  now  ready  to 
withdraw  from  her.  The  initiative  was  taken  on  the 
thirty-first  of  October,  when  a  convention  met  at  Brattle- 
borough  and  named  delegates  to  join  others  to  be  appointed 
from  Gloucester  County  and  the  east  side  Grafton  County, 


The  Play  for  a  State  291 

and  devise  measures  to  bring  about  such  a  union.  A  week 
later  the  delegates  for  these  three  counties  met  on  the  east 
side,  at  Charlestown,  and  decided  before  going  any  further 
with  the  scheme  to  take  means  for  ascertaining  more  fully 
the  sentiment  of  the  several  towns  upon  it.  In  another 
week  a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  east  side  towns 
south  of  Charlestown,  which  comprised  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Chester  County,  together  with  committees  from  the 
three  counties  previously  moving,  assembled  at  Walpole 
and  took  definite  action  in  perfecting  a  plan  for  a  general 
convention  of  representatives  of  all  the  grants  at  Charles- 
town  in  the  following  January  (1781).  While  the  Che- 
shire Coimty  men  were  loyal  to  New  Hampshire  they  had 
the  same  repugnance  as  the  upper  River  leaders  to  a  boun- 
dary at  the  River,  and  were  impatient  with  the  halting 
course  of  the  Exeter  government.  Their  hope  was  strong 
that  the  movement  now  begun  would  bring  the  issue  to  a 
conclusion,  with  the  establishment  of  New  Hampshire's  ju- 
risdiction definitely  across  the  River. 

The  Charlestown  assembly  was  the  largest  and  most  im- 
portant of  the  series  of  state-making,  or  state-attempting, 
conventions  in  the  Valley.  And  here  the  play  of  the  poli- 
ticians was  the  shrewdest  and  boldest,  beautiful  in  its 
audacity. 

Upon  the  appointed  day,  January  16,  forty-three  towns 
on  both  sides  of  the  River  appeared  by  their  delegates  in 
the  Charlestown  meeting-house.  The  College  party  had 
the  organization.  At  the  opening  of  the  game  the  parti- 
sans of  three  of  the  four  interests  —  the  College  party, 
the  Exeter  government,  and  New  York  —  were  practically 
united  for  present  purposes  upon  the  scheme  of  a  boundary 
at  the  Green  Mountains,  with  all  the  grants  east  of  the 
ridge  in  the  jurisdiction  of  New  Hampshire  and  all  west 


292  Connecticut  River 

of  it  attached  to  New  York.  Vermont  was  not  yet  repre- 
sented, and  she  was  counted  out  of  the  reckoning.  But 
Ira  Allen  was  on  the  way,  post  haste,  under  appointment 
from  the  governor  and  council  with  carte  hianche  to  take 
whatever  measures  in  its  interest  his  "prudence  should 
dictate."  He  had  also  provided  himself  with  credentials 
as  a  member  from  one  of  the  towns.  When  he  arrived 
the  convention  had  been  in  session  two  days,  and  every- 
thing was  going  the  way  of  the  combined  interests.  He 
did  not  take  his  seat  or  produce  his  credentials.  Instead, 
he  put  in  his  work  among  the  members  in  the  lobby  with 
energy  and  tact,  to  undo  what  had  been  so  far  accomplished 
and  to  bring  the  convention  to  his  side.  A  committee 
assigned  to  shape  the  business  had  reported  for  the  union 
with  New  Hampshire,  and  their  report  had  been  adopted 
by  a  strong  majority.  Allen  and  his  aids  secured  a  recom- 
mitment of  the  report  over  night,  ostensibly  for  verbal 
corrections  and  to  be  "fitted  for  the  press."  The  next 
morning  Vermont  was  foimd  to  be  at  the  fore,  with  the 
game  in  her  hands.  A  majority  of  the  committee  had 
been  induced  to  reverse  the  report,  which  now  provided 
for  the  union  with  Vermont  of  all  the  territory  lying  west 
of  the  Mason  line ;  and  the  delegates  had  been  so  tiurned 
about  that  the  revised  report  was  adopted  by  an  almost 
unanimous  vote. 

How  Allen  with  his  few  Benningtonian  aids  performed 
this  legerdemain  history  does  not  tell.  Allen's  own  secret 
report  narrates  that  he  informed  some  "  confidential  per- 
sons "  that  the  governor  and  council  and  other  "  leading 
characters"  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountains  were  now 
for  extending  Vermont's  claim  of  jurisdiction  to  the  Mason 
line,  and  that  "  if  the  convention  would  take  proper  mea- 
sures "   he  was    autliorized   to  give  assurance   that   the 


The  Play  for  a  State  293 

Assembly  would  extend  such  claim  at  their  approaching 
session  in  February,  notwithstanding  the  dissolution  of 
the  union  with  the  sixteen  towns  three  years  before.  He 
made  note  of  the  fact  that  an  influential  number  of  the 
delegates  were  members  of  the  New  Hampshire  Council 
and  Assembly;  and  he  was  pardonably  jubilant  in  his 
observation  that  "the  friends  of  New  Hampshire  were 
much  pleased  with  their  work  and  well  enjoyed  the  night " 
during  which  he  was  engaged  in  working  his  scheme. 

General  Benjamin  Bellows,  of  Walpole,  who  as  head  of 
the  committee  had  made  the  first  report,  and  ten  others 
of  Cheshire  County,  entered  a  remonstrance  against  the 
final  action  and  withdrew  from  the  convention.  They 
were  ready,  they  said,  either  to  join  New  Hampshire  or 
set  up  a  new  sta  e  between  the  heights  of  land  on  both 
sides  of  the  River;  but  they  could  not  join  Vermont. 
After  their  withdrawal  the  convention  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  confer  with  the  Vermont  Assembly  at  the  Feb- 
ruary session,  and  then  adjourned,  next  to  assemble  in  the 
meeting-house  at  Cornish,  on  the  day  of  the  Assembly's 
meeting  across  the  River  at  Windsor. 

Thus  again,  as  in  1778,  at  Cornish  and  Windsor,  nego- 
tiations for  the  union  of  the  east  and  west  side  grants  in 
one  political  body  were  successfully  carried  out ;  now, 
however,  on  a  larger  scale  than  before  and  under  differing 
conditions. 

First,  a  committee  from  the  Convention  at  Cornish 
crossed  over  to  the  Assembly  at  Windsor  and  formally 
presented  their  proposition.  This  committee  the  College 
party  dominated  with  Colonel  Payne  of  Lebanon  as  chair- 
man, and  Professor  Woodward  as  a  member.  At  the 
same  time  the  Assembly  received  a  petition  from  eleven 
towns  in  the  northeast  part  of  New  York,  near  the  Hudson, 


294  Connecticut  River 

also  for  admission  to  Vermont.  Both  commimications 
were  met  with  a  resolve  laying  jurisdictional  claims  over 
all  of  the  territory  east  and  west  of  the  River  to  the 
Mason  line  on  the  one  side  and  the  Hudson  on  the  other ; 
with  this  proviso,  however :  that  jurisdiction  be  not  exer- 
cised "for  the  time  being."  Subsequently  the  articles  of 
union  were  agreed  to,  and  mutually  confirmed  by  Assembly 
and  Convention,  to  take  effect  when  ratified  by  two-thirds 
of  the  interested  towns.  Then  both  bodies  adjourned  to 
await  the  action  of  their  respective  constituencies. 

Upon  reassembling  in  April,  again  at  Windsor  and 
Cornish,  the  return  showed  a  ratification  of  the  union  by 
a  requisite  number  of  towns.  Accordingly  it  was  imme- 
diately consummated  b}'  the  admission  to  seats  in  the 
Assembly  of  representatives  of  thirty-four  towns  east  of 
the  River.  Among  these  new  members  appeared  Professor 
Woodward  and  most  of  the  other  leaders  of  the  College 
party. 

Thus  the  original  sixteen  east-side  towns  controlled  by 
the  College  party,  with  eighteen  others  in  their  company, 
became  again  constitutional  members  of  the  State  of  Ver- 
mont. And  for  a  time  things  went  on  swimmingly.  At 
the  April  session  of  the  Assembly  new  counties  were 
created  in  the  place  of  the  old  ones,  courts  established, 
militia  organized  east  of  the  River,  and  other  measures 
taken  to  cement  the  new  union.  At  the  next  session,  held 
in  June  at  Bennington,  the  eleven  seceding  New  York 
towns  toward  the  Hudson  were  admitted  on  similar  terms 
to  those  east  of  the  Connecticut.  These  annexed  districts 
were  designated  respectively  the  Western  Union  and  the 
Eastern  Union.  At  this  session  Professor  Woodward,  and 
Jonas  Fay  and  Ira  Allen  of  the  Benningtonians,  were 
named  as  a  committee  to  attend  upon  Congress  and  make 


The  Play  for  a  State  295 

a  new  application  for  the  admission  of  Vermont,  with 
authority,  in  the  event  of  success,  to  take  seats  as  delegates 
from  the  state.  In  September  or  October  Colonel  Payne 
was  chosen  lieutenant  governor  of  the  state.  In  October 
the  Assembly  met  for  the  first  and  only  time  on  the  east 
side  of  the  River,  —  at  Charlestown,  —  with  the  College 
party  now  in  full  swing. 

While  the  Bennington  party  had  kept  to  the  letter  of 
Ira  Allen's  promises  at  the  Charlestown  convention  in 
January,  still  they  had  so  manoeuvred  as  to  retain  the 
power  in  their  hands.  They  had  fostered  the  union  as  a 
necessity  to  preserve  and  maintain  the  life  and  independ- 
ence of  Vermont,  but  the  right  of  dissolving  it  remained 
with  the  state.  The  extension  of  her  jurisdiction  east  and 
west  over  the  whole  of  the  grants  was,  in  fact,  only  a 
claim  or  claims  not  to  be  exercised  if  disapproved  by  Con- 
gress. The  Benningtonians  were  prepared  to  relinquish 
both  claims  if  opportunity  should  come  in  that  way  to 
attain  their  great  desire  —  the  recognition  of  the  sove- 
reignty of  their  state  at  all  hazards.  So  they  "  bided  their 
time  "  and  observed  with  satisfaction  the  rising  tumult 
against  the  combination. 

New  Hampshire,  now  roused,  was  pressing  her  delegates 
in  Congress  to  secure  her  claim  to  Vermont's  territory, 
while  at  home  she  was  taking  measures  for  the  defence  of 
her  invaded  jurisdiction.  In  many  of  the  east-side  towns 
an  active  minority  were  resisting  the  authority  of  Vermont, 
and  collisions  were  frequent  between  the  officers  and  par- 
tisans of  the  two  governments.  These  conflicts  were  most 
serious  in  Cheshire  County.  At  one  time  the  New  Hamp- 
shire county  sheriff,  Colonel  Enoch  Hale  of  Walpole,  when 
attempting  to  release  from  the  jail  in  Charlestown  some 
townsmen  of  Chesterfield  who  had  been  taken  for  resisting 


296  Connecticut  River 

a  constable,  was  himself  seized  and  incarcerated ;  and  his 
case  became  a  cause  celebr^e  in  the  Upper  Valley.  In  retali- 
ation, a  Vermont  county  sheriff,  Dr.  William  Page  of 
Charlestown,  was  clapped  into  jail  at  Exeter,  by  order  of 
the  New  Hampshire  legislature,  upon  his  appearance  there 
as  one  of  three  commissioners  sent  over  by  the  Vermont 
government  to  endeavor  to  settle  local  disputes.  Dm-ing 
the  controversies  threats  of  raising  the  militia  were  made 
by  both  states,  and  civil  war  in  the  border  towns  was 
imminent.  At  a  critical  stage  orders  for  marching  the 
militia  of  Vermont  into  the  warring  district  were  actually 
issued,  but  fortunately  were  countermanded  when  peaceful 
negotiations  intervened. 

In  August  Messrs.  Woodward,  Fay,  and  Allen  were 
in  Philadelphia  on  their  mission  pressing  Vermont's  renewed 
claims  upon  Congress.  On  the  twentieth,  Congress  acted 
to  the  extent  of  a  declaration  making  conditions  as  an  indis- 
pensable preliminary  to  the  state's  recognition.  These 
conditions  were  the  relinquishment  by  Vermont  of  all 
demands  to  lands  or  jurisdiction  on  the  east  side  of  the 
west  bank  of  the  Connecticut,  and  west  of  a  line  twenty 
miles  east  of  the  Hudson :  in  other  words,  her  abandonment 
of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Unions.  With  this  definite 
proposition  the  committee  appeared  at  the  Assembly  that 
convened  at  Charlestown  on  the  eleventh  of  October. 

One  hundred  and  two  towns  were  represented  at  this 
sitting,  thirty-six  of  them  east  of  the  River.  The  members 
assembled  under  disquieting  circumstances,  for  reports 
were  abroad  that  New  Hampshire  troops  would  attempt 
to  prevent  the  meeting.  In  fact  a  regiment  had  marched 
into  Charlestown  a  few  days  before  and  quartered  at  the 
fort.  Shortly  after  there  arrived  three  hundredweight  of 
powder,  six  hundredweight  of  balls,  and  a  thousand  flints. 


The  Play  for  a  State  297 

Meanwhile,  at  Cornish,  Colonel  Chase  of  the  Vermont 
militia  had  ordered  his  captains  to  muster  their  companies 
in  readiness  for  any  emergency.  All  this  had  an  ominous 
look.  No  trouble,  however,  arose,  although  the  soldiery 
remained  in  the  town  for  some  time.  Probably  the  gath- 
ering of  Colonel  Reynolds  and  his  men  here  at  this  juncture 
was  quite  independent  of  the  Assembly's  meeting.  They 
had  been  enlisted  under  a  requisition  for  recruiting  the 
Continental  army,  and  were  on  their  way  to  service ;  but 
their  presence  may  have  served  to  influence  the  Assembly's 
leaders  to  prompt  and  uncompromising  action  on  the 
questions  at  issue  which  marked  this  sitting. 

The  report  of  the  Philadelphia  mission  was  the  subject 
of  discussion  for  four  days.  The  offer  of  definite  terms  by 
Congress  as  an  "indispensable  preliminary"  was  consid- 
ered, and  so  treated,  as  a  virtual  engagement  to  admit  the 
state  to  the  national  confederation  upon  her  acceptance  of 
the  terms.  Notwithstanding  the  alluring  inducement,  the 
Assembly  determined  to  hold  fast  to  the  Eastern  and 
Western  Unions,  and  to  decline  to  submit  the  question  of 
the  independence  of  Vermont  to  the  "  arbitrament  of  any 
power  whatever."  On  the  last  day  of  the  session  the 
members  were  cheered  by  the  arrival  of  an  express  with 
great  news.  The  announcement  was  made  and  duly 
recorded,  "  That  on  the  19th  inst.  the  proud  Cornwallis 
had  unconditionally  surrendered  with  his  whole  army  to 
the  illustrious  Washington." 

With  the  engineering  of  this  Charlestown  session  the 
College  party's  leadership  ended.  Their  star  was  about 
to  fall  and  forever. 

In  the  interim  between  the  adjournment  at  Charles- 
town  and  the  next  sitting  of  the  Assembly,  called  for 
January  31   (1782)  at  Bennington,  various  forces  w^ere 


298  Connecticut  River 

diligently  at  work,  and  the  Bennington  party  were 
shrewdly  manoeuvering.  When  the  time  for  this  mid- 
winter meeting  came  great  plans  had  matured.  The 
gathering  of  representatives  was  comparatively  small,  few 
if  any  from  the  River  region  having  arrived ;  for  it  was 
the  worst  season  for  travel  in  that  primitive  day  of  rough 
roads,  or  of  no  roads  at  all  in  the  passes  through  the  hills. 
Before  the  close  of  February  the  work  at  Charlestown  had 
been  undone  with  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  accepting 
the  terms  of  Congress.  All  claims  to  territory  without 
the  bounds  named  in  the  terms  were  now  formally  relin- 
quished, and  the  Eastern  and  Western  Unions  completely 
dissolved.  This  accomplished,  agents  were  hurried  off  to 
Philadelphia,  under  secret  instructions,  confident  of  at  last 
gaining  the  coveted  recognition,  the  assumed  stipulated 
price  having  been  fully  met.  How  they  failed  even  to 
receive  consideration  of  the  matter  at  this  time,  how  nine 
more  years  elapsed  before  the  state  was  admitted,  and  how 
Vermont  bravely  developed  during  this  period  as  an  inde- 
pendent republic  —  all  this  is  another  story. 

The  College  party,  however,  did  not  tamely  pass  from 
the  stage. 

Only  two  days  after  the  final  vote  dissolving  the 
Unions,  leading  members  of  the  Assembly  from  east  of 
the  River  reached  Bennington.  Immediately  they  pre- 
pared and  sent  out  a  call  for  a  convention  of  the  excluded 
River  towns  to  meet  at  Dresden  in  March,  and  devise 
measures  "relative  to  the  settlement  of  animosities  .  .  . 
in  order  for  an  honorable  union  with  New  Hampshire." 
This  convention  duly  met  at  Colonel  Brewster's  Hanover 
inn,  and  named  a  committee  to  apply  to  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Assembly  for  the  re-admission  of  the  seceders  upon 
certain  terms  covered  by  fifteen  articles  carefully  drawn 


The  Play  for  a  State  299 

by  the  College  statesmen.  But  New  Hampshire  now  had 
the  wayward  towns  at  her  mercy.  The  Assembly  refused 
to  accept  any  but  imconditional  submission. 

In  May  five  River  towns  on  the  west  side — Hartford, 
Norwich,  Moretown  (Bradford),  and  Newbury, —  through 
their  committees  meeting  at  Thetford,  also  petitioned  for 
admission  to  New  Hampshire.  Thereupon  the  Assembly 
expressed  the  willingness  of  the  state  to  extend  her  juris- 
diction to  the  Green  Mountains,  provided  the  "  generality 
of  the  inhabitants  thereof  should  desire  it,"  and  that  New 
York  should  settle  a  boundary-line  upon  the  mountains  — 
thus  absorbing  Vermont.  Nothing  came  of  this.  In  due 
time  the  boundary  between  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont 
was  permanently  fixed  at  the  west  bank  of  the  River. 
Thus  New  Hampshire  possesses  the  River's  bed. 

With  the  final  reabsorption  of  the  east  side  towns  by 
New  Hampshire  the  College  statesmen  returned  to  their 
books  and  their  professional  work.  They  played  no  more 
at  state-making  or  state-guiding.  Occasionally  they  reap- 
peared on  the  political  horizon  concerned  in  such  issues  of 
local  import  as  questions  of  taxation,  when  their  skilful 
pens  were  again  employed  in  shaping  argumentative 
memorials.  The  Assembly  of  Vermont  continued  to  come 
to  the  Valley  for  frequent  sittings  —  mostly  at  Windsor, 
meeting  once  at  Westminster  and  once  at  Norwich  —  till 
the  close  of  1785 ;  and  in  the  autumn  of  1789  the  New 
Hampshire  legislatiu-e  assembled  at  Charlestown,  when 
Governor  John  Sullivan  and  the  council  were  grandly  en- 
tertained at  Abel  Walker's  tavern,  where  Governor  Chitten- 
den with  his  council  had  "  put  up "  seven  years  before. 
But  the  college  men  had  slight  interest  in  these  goings  on. 


300  Connecticut  River 

Bitterness  against  the  College  party  still  continued  to 
be  cherished  by  the  dominant  party  in  New  Hampshire 
for  years  after.  It  was  carried  into  the  generation  that 
followed,  when  it  culminated  in  1815  in  the  attempt  to 
wrest  the  control  of  the  College  from  the  corporation 
established  by  the  royal  charter,  and  vest  it  in  the  legis- 
lature ;  the  setting  up  of  the  rival  "  Dartmouth  University  " 
by  the  side  of  the  College ;  and  the  waging  of  the  hot 
Dartmouth  Controversy,  finally  settled  by  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  with  the  decision  for  the  College,  —  a  story 
which  moved  a  Dartmouth  orator  to  advise  the  inscription 
above  the  door  of  the  institution :  "  Founded  by  Eleazar 
Wheelock :  Refounded  by  Daniel  Webster." 


o    5 

ON     g! 


d) 


o   •; 


Q  1 


II 

ROMANCES   OF  NAVIGATION 


301 


XXI 

An  Early  Colonial  Highway 

The  River  an  important  Thoroughfare  through  Colony  Times  —  The  first  White 
Man's  Craft  on  its  Waters  —  Dutch  and  English  Trading  Ships  —  Wil- 
liam Pynchon  the  first  River  Merchant  —  Prosperous  Traffic  in  Furs, 
Skins,  and  Hemp  —  The  earliest  Flatboats  operating  between  the  Falls  — 
Seventeenth  Century  Shipbuilding  —  River-built  Ships  sent  out  on  long 
Foreign  Voyages  —  The  Rig  of  the  Flatboat  as  developed  by  Colonial 
Builders  —  System  of  Up-River  Transportation  in  the  latter  Colonial  Period 
—  Lumber  Rafts  —  Early  Ferries. 

ALL  through  colonial  times  the  Connecticut  was  a 
r\  highway  of  importance  for  pursuits  of  trade  and  of 
war.  At  first  its  navigation  by  the  white  man's  craft  was 
confined  to  the  sixty  miles  between  the  River's  mouth  and 
the  head  of  tide-water  below  Enfield  Falls.  Soon  after  the 
coming  of  the  English  colonists,  however,  the  flatboat,  or 
scow,  was  contrived  which  could  rim  the  Enfield  rapids  at 
high  water,  and  then  navigation  extended  to  Springfield. 
Above  commerce  was  carried  on  only  through  the  Massa- 
chusetts Reach  by  means  of  canoes  or  rafts  or  flatboats  be- 
tween the  falls,  till  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
But  long  before  that  time  the  craft  of  the  white  hunter  and 
trapper,  the  frontiersman,  the  scout  and  the  soldier  had 
navigated  the  far  northern  reaches;  while  the  Indians,  the 
River's  first  navigators,  were  paddling  its  sinuous  length  in 
their  bark  canoes  and  dugouts  on  fishing  or  hunting  expe- 
ditions, or  on  predatory  incursions  against  the  New  England 
frontiers.  And  during  the  tragic  years  of  the  French  and 
Indian  wars  it  was  the  great  military  thoroughfare. 

303 


304  Connecticut  River 

The  year  1633,  with  the  establishment  of  the  rival 
Dutch  and  Pilgrim  trading  houses,  is  usually  given  as  the 
date  of  the  opening  of  the  River  to  commercial  navigation. 
But  in  this  statement  no  account  is  taken  of  the  presence 
of  Dutch  trading  vessels  here  for  a  decade  before.  It  were 
closer  to  the  record  to  say  that  in  1633,  when  English  ships 
first  came  in  and  began  to  compete  with  the  Dutch  for  its 
trade,  the  River  was  opened  generally  to  navigation.  Very 
soon  the  English  were  in  successful  competition  with  their 
rivals,  and  their  little  vessels  were  taking  out  rich  cargoes 
of  the  Valley  products,  mostly  to  port  at  Boston  for  ship- 
ment to  England.  The  Dutch  ships  carried  their  cargoes 
to  New  Amsterdam  generally  for  shipment  to  Holland; 
and  it  is  said  that  some  of  them  sailed  direct  from  the 
River  to  the  home  ports.  The  earliest  Dutch  craft  in  the 
River  have  been  described  as  "•  yachts,"  small  sloops  and 
periaguas.  The  earliest  English  vessels  of  record  were 
barks,  lighters,  pinks,  pinnaces,  and  shallops. 

Although  the  Pl3rmouth  men  were  the  first  English 
traders  in  the  River  with  their  "  great  new  bark  "  and  other 
ships,  the  Bay  Colony  men  were  "  close  seconds,"  as  we  have 
seen.  William  Pynchon,  with  his  foundation  of  Springfield 
in  1636,  was  the  first  to  establish  a  systematic  River  busi- 
ness. He  had  then  the  advantage  of  exclusive  privileges, 
being  one  of  those  to  whom  the  standing  council  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  farmed  out  all  trading  with  the  Indians  in 
beaver  and  other  furs  for  a  specified  term.  To  facilitate 
transportation  between  Enfield  rapids  and  the  Springfield 
settlement,  Pynchon  built  a  storage  warehouse  on  the  shore 
below  the  falls  which  gave  its  name  to  Warehouse  Point. 
Here  was  the  up-river  landing  of  his  first  trading  shallop 
(the  same  that  was  later  impressed  for  the  Pequot  War). 
After  the  Pequot  War  the  River's  navigation  to  Warehouse 


An  Early  Colonial  Highway  305 

Point  increased,  and  trade  became  profitable  to  the  colon- 
ists, especially  the  Pynchons  —  William  and  Major  John, 
his  son,  who  succeeded  him. 

The  earliest  traffic  was  in  furs,  skins,  and  hemp  brought 
in  by  the  Indians.  Major  Pynchon  and  his  associates 
sometimes  sent  out  in  a  single  ship  to  England,  a  thousand 
pounds'  sterling  worth  of  otter  and  beaver  skins.  The 
beaver  trade  remained  for  a  considerable  time  in  the  hands 
of  Major  Pynchon  and  a  few  merchants  in  the  lower  towns 
to  whom  the  Connecticut  court  committed  its  exclusive 
charge.  An  abundance  of  beaver  then  inhabited  the  lower 
streams  which  flow  into  the  River.  Many  beaver  and  other 
skins  were  also  brought  down  the  River  by  the  Indians 
from  the  distant  west  and  north.  Major  Pynchon' s  account 
books,  which  are  preserved  in  the  Springfield  City  Li- 
brary, covering  a  period  of  thirty  years  from  1650,  give 
interesting  details  of  the  River's  early  trade  and  shipments. 
During  that  time  the  major  packed,  mostly  in  hogsheads, 
many  thousand  beaver-skins,  worth  about  eight  shillings 
sterHng  a  pound  in  England.  Other  skins  shipped  by  him 
were  of  the  grey  and  the  red  fox,  the  muskrat,  the  raccoon, 
the  marten,  the  fisher,  mink,  wildcat,  and  moose,  the 
latter  skins  weighing  from  twelve  to  twenty-five  pounds 
each. 

When  the  flatboat  was  first  employed  on  the  River  is 
not  definitely  known,  but  it  was  p"robably  very  early  in  use, 
working  between  Warehouse  Point  and  Springfield.  The 
first  flatboats  were  built  by  the  earliest  Springfield  colonists, 
and  men  soon  became  skiHul  in  running  them  over  the 
rapids.  Later  on  there  were  Hadley  and  Northampton 
boats  and  boatmen  in  regular  service.  As  settlements  ad- 
vanced up  the  River  above  the  Massachusetts  line,  larger 
flatboats   were   operated  between  the   various   falls,   the 


306  Connecticut  River 

freight  being  unloaded  at  the  foot  of  each  fall,  and  trans- 
ported around  it  on  shore  by  teams,  —  ox-teams  at  first,  — 
to  be  reloaded  on  the  boats  above.  Thus  a  definite  and 
remunerative  occupation  in  addition  to  farming  was  af- 
forded the  dwellers  near  each  fall.  Warehouse  Point  was 
the  place  of  transhipment  of  freight  from  sloops  to  the 
flatboats  through  the  colony  period,  and  afterward  till  the 
opening  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  erection  of 
the  first  Hartford  bridge  across  the  River,  in  1809,  ob- 
structed the  passage  of  the  larger  sloops,  and  then  Hart- 
ford became  the  principal  port  of  transhipment. 

The  canoes  first  used  for  River  service  were  fashioned 
after  the  Indian  dugouts,  from  trees  cut  on  the  River's 
banks.  It  was  early  found  necessary  to  protect  "  canoe 
trees  "  from  spoliation,  and  orders  were  passed  by  Spring- 
field, nd  probably  by  other  settlements,  prohibiting  the 
felling  of  such  trees  within  the  bounds  of  the  plantation 
without  general  consent.  These  canoes,  used  in  crossing 
from  shore  to  shore  or  in  passing  between  the  settlements, 
as  well  as  for  freightage,  and  mingling  with  the  graceful 
birchen  craft  of  friendly  bartering  Indians,  must  have 
brightened  the  River  about  the  lonely  plantations.  But 
there  could  have  been  no  more  heartening  sight  than  the 
spectacle,  in  the  spring  of  1638,  of  the  fleet  of  fifty 
Indian  canoes  sweeping  down  from  the  Indian  village  of 
Pocumtuck  (Deerfield),  all  heaped  up  with  luscious  corn, 
for  the  relief  of  the  lower  River  towns  impoverished  by  the 
Pequot  War  of  the  previous  year  and  in  danger  of  starva- 
tion. "  Never  was  the  like  known  to  this  day,"  wrote 
chivalrous  Captain  John  Mason  in  his  history  thirty  years 
after. 

Many  of  the  seventeenth  century  vessels  in  the  River's 
navigation  were  built  on  its  lower   banks,  from   native 


An  Early  Colonial  Highway  307 

timber.  Among  the  first  were  ketches,  pinks,  and  shallops. 
A  policy  for  the  encouragement  of  shipbuilding  was  very 
early  adopted  by  the  Connecticut  Colony.  Before  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  Hartford  men  were 
sending  out  River-built  ships  on  distant  voyages,  freighted 
with  the  products  of  the  Valley  to  be  bartered  for  the 
commodities  of  foreign  parts,  all  sorts  of  necessities  for  a 
new  country,  among  them  much  "  rumme  "  and  occasional 
wines.  These  vessels,  says  a  local  chronicler,  were  sent 
forth  "  on  to  Boston,  Newfoundland,  New  York,  Delaware, 
Barbadoes,  Jamaica ;  or,  occasionally,  to  Fayal  and  to  the 
Wine  and  Madeira  Isles."  By  1666  vessels  on  the  stocks 
were  exempted  from  taxation.  In  1676  Hartford  had 
among  her  craft  a  ketch  of  ninety  tons ;  and  Middletown, 
a  ship  of  seventy  tons.  By  1680  ships,  ketches,  and  pinks 
of  from  fifty  to  eighty  tons,  with  smaller  sloops  and  barques, 
were  navigating  the  River  to  Hartford  and  Warehouse 
Point. 

The  flatboats  as  developed  by  the  colonial  builders  were 
generally  provided  with  a  square  mainsail  set  in  the  middle 
of  the  craft  and  extending  some  feet  each  side  of  it,  and  a 
topsail  which  was  useful  only  before  the  wind.  Three 
sails  were  sometimes  carried,  the  third  sail  rigged  above 
the  topsail  in  very  light  winds.  When  the  wind  was 
unfavorable  these  boats  were  propelled  by  poling,  or 
"  snubbing  "  along  shore,  with  ""  setting  poles."  The  poles 
were  of  white  ash  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  long,  with 
a  socket-spike  in  the  lower  end.  The  polers  came  to  be 
called  spike-pole  men.  They  worked  one  on  each  side  of 
the  smaller  boats  and  three  on  each  side  on  the  larger. 
The  operation  was  slow  and  laborious.  Each  poleman, 
placing  the  spiked  end  of  his  pole  firmly  on  the  river  bot- 
tom and  pressing  the  head  of  the  upper  end  against  his 


308  Connecticut  River 

shoulder,  walked  from  the  front  of  the  boat  to  the  mastr 
board,  shoving  with  all  his  force  as  he  walked.  The  inside 
oarsmen  worked  with  the  shorter  poles.  The  captain  did 
the  steering  in  the  stern,  in  the  smaller  craft  using  a  wide- 
bladed  oar.  The  poling  was  the  hardest  kind  of  labor. 
Each  season  great  thick  callouses  as  large  as  the  hand  were 
raised  on  the  front  of  the  polers'  shoulders,  lacerated  and 
bloody  at  the  beginning  of  the  work.  The  boats  were  flat- 
bottomed  and  drew  only  from  two  to  three  feet  of  water. 
The  freight  carried  was  packed  around  the  central  mast. 

Before  the  close  of  the  colony  period  the  system  of 
transportation  above  tide-water  by  flatboats  between  the 
successive  falls  and  by  teams  on  shore  around  them,  had 
been  advanced  many  miles  northward  to  meet  trade  demands 
or  supply  the  necessaries  of  life  to  the  developing  up-river 
settlements  on  the  "  New  Hampshire  Grants "  and  the 
growing  northern  country.  At  the  approach  of  the  Revo- 
lution the  head  of  boat  navigation  had  reached  the  then 
new  village  of  Wells  River,  in  the  Vermont  Newbury,  lying 
in  the  deep  narrow  Valley  at  the  confluence  of  Wells  River 
and  our  stream,  the  unusual  picturesqueness  of  which 
to-day  invites  the  traveller  as  he  gazes  down  upon  it  from 
the  Wells  River  Junction  of  railways.  The  flatboats  of 
that  time,  bringing  up  miscellaneous  cargoes  of  merchan- 
dise, with  iron,  salt,  molasses,  and  much  rum,  were  returned 
down  river  laden  with  shingles,  potash,  and  other  products 
of  the  region,  for  Hartford  and  below.  Rafts  of  lumber 
were  also  piloted  down,  in  "  boxes,"  sometimes  sixty  feet 
long  and  a  dozen  feet  wide.  Many  men  were  engaged 
directly  or  indirectly  in  the  River  service.  Passengers  as 
well  as  merchandise  were  occasionally  transported  up  the 
riverway  on  the  freight  boats.  Household  goods  were 
also  carried  up  for  new  settlers. 


l^ 


< 


An  Early  Colonial  Highway  309 

There  being  no  bridges  at  any  point  across  the  Kiver 
till  after  the  Revolution,  the  ferry  was  an  important  insti- 
tution in  the  advancing  settlements  and  the  ferryman  a 
useful  and  important  personage.  The  chain  ferry,  still 
seen  at  intervals  along  the  River,  was  early  in  use,  suc- 
ceeding the  canoe  and  the  raft  ferry. 


XXII 

Locks  and  Canals 

The  first  River  in  the  Country  to  be  Improved  by  Canals  —  The  Initial  Charter 
issued  by  Vermont  in  1791  —  First  Work  in  the  Massachusetts  Reach  — 
Locking  of  South  Hadley  Falls  in  1795  —  A  Remarkable  Achievement  for 
that  Day  —  Unique  Features  of  the  Construction  —  The  System  as  Devel- 
oped Northward  —  Wells  River  Village  Head  of  Navigation  —  River  Life 
then  Animated  and  Bustling  —  Improved  Types  of  Freight-Boats  —  Schemes 
for  Extending  the  System  vfith  great  Rival  Projects  —  Final  crushing 
Competition  of  the  Railroads. 

VERY  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  when 
internal  improvements  were  planning  in  various- 
parts  of  the  new  nation,  large  schemes  were  formulated  by 
Connecticut  Valley  men  for  increasing  the  navigability  of 
the  River  northward  by  means  of  a  system  of  canals  around 
the  principal  falls  ;  and  by  1795,  before  the  establishment 
of  similar  enterprises  elsewhere  in  the  country,  the  first 
work  in  a  projected  series  was  finished.  Thus  the  Con- 
necticut was  the  first  river  in  America  to  be  improved  by 
canals.  It  has  the  further  distinction  of  having  been  navi- 
gated above  tide-water,  during  its  career  of  acti^dty,  more 
than  any  other  river  in  New  England. 

The  institution  of  the  canal  system  was  stimulated  in 
part  by  the  rivalry  between  the  seaport  towns  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  lower  River  centres  of  Hartford  and 
Springfield  for  the  control  of  the  trade  of  northern  New 
England.  With  the  substitution  to  an  appreciable  extent 
of  unobstructed  up-river  navigation  during  the  open  sea- 
sons for  the  cumbrous  system  of  part  water  and  part  land 

310 


Locks  and  Canals  311 

carriage,  the  lower  towns,  brought  commercially  nearer  to 
the  upper  country,  would  gain  a  distinct  advantage.  Accord- 
ingly their  merchants  and  shippers  were  quick  to  encourage 
the  scheme,  and  moneyed  men  stood  ready  to  invest  in  the 
undertaking,  new  and  untried  in  the  country  as  it  was,  as 
soon  as  its  feasibility  was  demonstrated  to  their  satisfaction. 
The  first  charter  for  a  canal,  however,  came  from  the 
north.  It  issued  in  1791,  with  the  virile  acts  of  the  first 
legislature  of  the  finally  admitted  state  of  Vermont,  sitting 
at  the  Vermont  Windsor.  It  was  granted  to  two  upper- 
Valley  men  of  affairs  —  General  Lewis  B.  Morris  of  the 
Vermont  Springfield,  and  Dr.  William  Page  of  Charlestown, 
opposite,  as  "  The  Company  for  rendering  the  Connecticut 
River  Navigable  by  Bellows  Falls."  But  early  in  the  next 
year,  1792,  before  this  company  had  become  established, 
Massachusetts  chartered  ''  The  Proprietors  of  the  Locks 
and  Canals  on  the  Connecticut  River,"  for  the  purpose  of 
making  the  stream  "  passable  for  boats  and  other  things," 
from  the  mouth  of  Chicopee  River  throughout  the  state ; 
and  this  corporation  put  the  first  work  through. 

The  Massachusetts  proprietors  contemplated  at  the  out- 
set the  locking  of  the  two  great  falls  in  the  Massachusetts 
Reach,  — the  South  Hadley  and  Turner's  Falls.  It  was  a 
strong  organization  composed  of  men  of  leading  in  several 
lower  Valley  towns,  principally  Springfield,  Northampton, 
and  Deerfield ;  with  a  few  of  Berkshire.  In  the  list  one 
observes  such  representative  central  and  western  Massa- 
chusetts names  as  Worthington,  Lyman,  and  D wight  of 
Springfield ;  Strong  and  Breck  of  Northampton  ;  Williams 
and  Hoyt  of  Deerfield  ;  Moore  of  Greenfield ;  Sedgwick  of 
Stockbridge.  John  Williams  of  Deerfield,  a  great-grand- 
son of  the  "  Redeemed  Captive,"  was  largely  instrumental 
in  its  promotion.     Capital  from  Holland,  at  that  time  the 


312  Connecticut  River 

financial  centre  of  Eiurope,  was  brought  into  the  enterprise, 
and  Mr.  Williams  was  associated  with  Stephen  Higginson 
of  Boston,  the  merchant  grandfather  of  Thomas  Wentworth 
Higginson,  as  agent  of  the  Dutch  firms  investing.  Routes 
for  both  canals  were  marked  out  and  surveyed  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1792,  while  at  the  same  time  surveys  were  making 
for  another  company  proposing  a  canal  from  Boston  to 
the  Connecticut  at  Deerfield,  —  a  plan  which  developed 
no  further.  The  South  Hadley  work  was  the  first  to  be 
completed. 

The  construction  of  this  initial  enterprise,  the  germ 
of  the  great  hydraulic  works  of  Holyoke  to-day,  was  a 
remarkable  achievement  of  that  time.  Its  builders,  with 
no  precedent  in  the  country  to  follow,  were  obliged  to 
execute  it  largely  on  original  lines.  Benjamin  Prescott 
of  Northampton,  in  after  years  a  superintendent  of  the 
arsenal  at  Springfield,  was  the  supervising  engineer.  Most 
of  the  way  the  cutting  was  through  solid  red  slate  rock, 
and  proved  costly.  The  canal  began  at  a  point  by  the 
South  Hadley  end  of  the  present  great  dam,  and  extended 
two  and  a  half  miles  along  the  River's  trend  northward, 
entering  the  River  above  a  wing  dam  projected  obliquely 
outward.  The  capacity  of  the  waterway  was  equal  to  the 
transportation  of  boats  or  rafts  forty  feet  long  and  twenty 
feet  wide.  The  style  of  machinery  provided  for  propelling 
craft  through  was  unique.  As  described  by  Dr.  Josiah  G. 
Holland  a  half -century  ago :  "At  the  point  where  boats 
were  to  be  lowered  and  elevated  was  a  long  inclined  plane 
traversed  by  a  car  of  the  width  of  the  canal  and  of  suffi- 
cient length  to  take  on  a  boat  or  a  section  of  a  raft.  At 
the  top  of  this  inclined  plane  were  two  large  water-wheels, 
one  on  either  side  of  the  canal,  which  furnished,  by  the 
aid  of  the  water  of  the  canal,  the  power  for  elevating  the 


Seal  of  the  Proprietors  of  Locks 

and  Canals. 

Showing  the  contrivance  first  used  at 

South  Hadley  for  passing  boats. 


Locks  and  Canals  313 

car  and  for  balancing  and  controlling  it  in  its  descent.  At 
the  foot  of  the  inclined  plane  the  car  descended  into  the 
water  of  the  canal,  being  entirely  submerged.  A  boat 
ascending  the  river  and  passing  into  the  canal  would  be 
floated  directly  over  and  into  the  car,  the  brim  of  the  lattter, 
of  course,  being  gauged  to  a  water  level  by  its  elevation 
aft  in  proportion  to  the  angle  of  the  inclination  of  the 
traverse  way.  The  boat  being  secure  in  the  car,  the  water 
was  let  upon  the  water-wheels,  which  by  their  common 
shaft  were  attached  to  the  car  through  two  immense  cables, 
and  thus,  winding  the  cables,  the  boat  passed  out  into  the 
canal  above.  The  reverse  of  the  operation  .  .  .  transferred 
a  boat,  or  the  section  of  a  raft,  from  above  downwards." 
The  completion  of  the  work  and  the  successful  passage 
of  the  first  boat  through  the  canal,  in  1795,  were  matters 
for  great  congratulation  to  the  proprietors.  But  the  out- 
look was  not  all  rosy  for  them.  The  expenditure  had  been 
much  heavier  than  anticipated,  —  an  assessment  of  over 
eighty  thousand  dollars  on  the  shares  of  the  stock  was 
large  for  those  modest  days  of  financiering, —  and  profits 
were  uncertain.  Litigation,  also,  followed  the  erection  of 
the  first  dam,  since  it  was  so  built  as  to  set  the  River's 
water  back  for  some  miles,  thus  flowing  the  Northampton 
meadows,  and  causing  an  epidemic  of  intermittent  fever. 
The  structm-e  was  condemned  as  a  nuisance,  and  all  but 
the  oblique  section  had  to  be  torn  down.  This  trouble 
scared  off  the  Dutch  investors,  and  they  sold  out  their 
holdings  at  a  sacrifice.  The  stock  ultimately  came  to  be 
held  by  a  few  hands,  and  thereafter  was  profitable.  Mean- 
while commerce  through  the  canal  had  steadily  increased, 
and  the  lowering  of  the  bed  for  deeper  water  was  impera- 
tive. This  work  was  undertaken  with  funds  raised  by  a 
lottery  authorized  by  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  of 


314  Connecticut  River 

1802,  the  system  still  in  favor  then  for  aiding  the  con- 
struction  of  quasi  public  works  as  well  as  for  building 
bridges  and  turnpikes.  The  deepening  was  accomplished 
by  1805,  with  other  improvements,  among  them  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  simple  lock  system  for  the  device  of  car 
and  cable. 

The  Turner's  Falls  canal  was  opened  for  service  in 
1800.  Its  completion  fell  to  a  second  company,  "  The 
Proprietors  of  the  Upper  Locks  and  Canal  on  Connecticut 
River,"  incorporated  in  1794,  when  the  interests  of  the 
original  corporation  were  divided,  the  lower  work  being 
all  that  it  could  comfortably  carry.  The  stockholders  in 
the  two  corporations,  however,  were  practically  the  same. 
This  canal  was  about  three  miles  in  length,  extending 
from  the  junction  of  the  Deerfield  with  the  Connecticut, 
to  a  point  just  above  the  present  dam  at  Turner's  Falls, 
and  had  ten  locks. 

The  works  at  Bellows  Falls  were  the  third  in  chrono- 
logical order,  the  canal  here  being  ready  for  business  in 
the  autumn  of  1802.  This  was  a  short  canal,  as  compared 
with  the  Massachusetts  concerns,  and  had  eight  locks.  The 
company  incorporated  by  Vermont  to  build  it  subsequently 
obtained  a  charter  from  New  Hampshire.  Dr.  Page  of  the 
original  corporators  executed  the  work  as  civil  engineer ; 
but  the  capital  came  from  England.  It  was  furnished  by 
a  wealthy  Londoner,  Hodgson  Atkinson,  who  never  saw 
the  works,  for  he  never  came  to  America.  The  property 
remained  in  the  Atkinson  family  for  seventy-four  years. 
Hence  the  name  of  Atkinson  applied  to  one  of  the  present 
thoroughfares  in  the  picturesque  village  of  Bellows  FaUs. 

Two  small  upper  canals  next  built  completed  the  sys- 
tem northward.  One  of  these  was  at  Water-Queeche,  now 
Sumner's  Falls,  midway  between  the  towns  of  Hartland 


£3 

&  "S 

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Locks  and  Canals  315 

and  North  Hartland  on  the  Vermont  side.  The  other 
was  about  three  miles  above  White  River  Junction,  where 
now  is  the  Vermont  village  of  Wilder.  The  latter  work 
made  it  possible  for  boats  to  approach  Barnet,  Vermont, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls,  two  himdred  and 
twenty  miles  above  Hartford.  Although  early  chartered, 
first  by  Vermont  in  1794,  and  afterward  by  New  Hamp- 
shire, these  northernmost  canals  were  not  in  operation  till 
after  1810. 

The  five  sets  of  works  now  established  constituted 
the  canal  system  through  a  large  part  of  the  period  of 
the  greatest  activity  on  the  River  above  tide-water,  for  the 
sixth  of  the  series  —  the  Enfield  canal  around  the  lowest 
falls,  —  was  not  opened  till  1829,  a  decade  only  before  the 
advent  of  the  railroad  in  the  Valley,  which  changed  speedily 
the  whole  aspect  of  things. 

The  River  life  was  most  animated  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  canal  system  through  the  first  third  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Numerous  towns  along  the  River's 
banks  in  the  upper  states,  now  serene  and  retired  with  the 
dignity  of  a  prosperous  past,  were  then  brisk  and  bustling 
places.  The  River  became  a  main  artery,  and  the  turnpike 
the  land-thoroughfare  between  the  seaboard  and  the  northern 
country,  with  the  river-boat,  the  stage-coach,  and  the  great 
goods-wagon  as  the  popular  means  of  transportation.  The 
landings  established  at  various  points  along  the  River  were 
then  the  favorite  gathering-places  for  leisurely  townsfolk 
and  villagers  to  "see  the  boat  come  in,"  as  the  rural  rail- 
way station  in  after  years  became  at  "  train  time."  Then 
was  the  day  of  the  "  River  gods,"  a  term  applied  to  expert 
handlers  of  boats  and  masters  of  transportation,  as  well  as 
to  the  Valley  political  leaders.  The  men  then  in  the  River 
service  were  "  the  stoutest,  heartiest,  and  merriest "  in  the 


316  Connecticut  River 

Valley.  When  the  boats  were  speeding  under  a  spanking 
breeze  and  there  was  rest  from  poling,  their  songs  echoed 
over  the  River  banks :  and  some  of  them  were  glorious 
singers.  Marvellous  tales  are  told  of  their  wondrous 
strength.  There  was  one  "Bill"  Cummins,  who  was 
wont  jaimtily  to  "  lift  a  barrel  of  salt  with  one  hand  by 
putting  two  fingers  in  the  bung-hole,  and  set  it  from  the 
bottom  timbers  "  of  a  boat  "  on  top  of  the  mastboard." 

As  traffic  increased,  or  after  the  opening  of  the  Enfield 
Canal,  larger  freight-boats  were  constructed.  The  per- 
fected type  was  a  flatboat  of  stout  oak,  averaging  seventy 
feet  in  length,  twelve  or  thirteen  in  width  at  the  bow,  ten 
at  the  stem,  and  fifteen  at  the  mast,  which  stood  about 
twenty-five  feet  from  the  bow.  In  the  stern  was  a  snug 
cabin.  The  mast  was  high,  rigged  with  shifting  shroud 
and  forestays,  a  topmast  to  be  run  up  when  needed,  the 
mainsail  about  thirty  by  eighteen  feet,  and  the  topsail  twenty- 
four  by  twelve  feet.  The  capacity  of  this  class  of  boat  was 
from  thirty  to  forty  tons.  Smaller  boats,  generally  built 
in  the  Upper  Valley,  were  of  about  twenty-five  tons  bur- 
den. These  were  without  cabins.  The  captain  and  crew 
of  the  larger  type  lived  on  board  during  the  voyage  north 
and  return ;  the  crews  of  the  smaller  craft  boarded  at  farm- 
houses along  shore.  The  passage  was  made  only  in  the 
daytime,  the  boats  being  tied  up  to  the  shore  at  night. 
The  upward  course  naturally  occupied  the  longer  time,  the 
length  varying  with  the  wind.  The  average  time  was 
twenty  days  for  the  up-trip  from  Hartford  to  Wells  River, 
and  ten  days  down  to  tide-water.  Sometimes  the  voyage 
up  and  return  was  made  in  twenty-five  days.  Between 
Hartford  and  Bellows  Falls  the  round  trip  averaged  about 
two  weeks.  The  downward  voyage  from  Bellows  Falls 
usually  occupied  three  days,  Northfield  being  made  the 


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Locks  and  Canals  317 

first  day,  Springfield  the  second,  and  Hartford  the  third. 

At  several  points  helpers  had  to  be  employed  beside 
the  crews  of  polemen.  About  Bellows  Falls  particularly 
difficulties  were  not  infrequently  encountered  which  profited 
the  pockets  of  the  dwellers  in  the  neighborhood.  When 
a  strong  south  wind  was  blowing  boats  coming  down  stream 
after  leaving  the  canal  became  entangled  in  the  eddy  of 
the  River  at  this  point,  the  contrary  currents  being  much 
stronger  then  than  now.  A  rope  running  through  a  ring 
on  a  post,  which  was  set  into  the  River  at  the  south  end  of 
the  eddy,  was  provided,  by  which  a  boat  could  be  pulled 
into  the  outward  current  by  helpers.  One  "Old  Seth 
Hapgood,"  who  lived  near  by,  was  for  years  especially 
active  in  this  work,  keeping  a  pair  of  oxen  in  readiness 
for  it.  Hitching  his  team  to  one  end  of  the  post-rope,  the 
other  end  of  which  was  fastened  to  the  boat,  he  would 
bestride  the  "  nigh  "  ox,  drive  out  into  the  River  as  far  as 
possible,  and  tug  into  the  proper  current.  It  became  a 
common  saying  among  River  men  that  "  Old  Seth  Hapgood 
prayed  every  morning  for  a  south  wind."  At  Enfield  Falls, 
on  the  up  voyage,  as  many  men  as  there  were  tons  of  freight 
on  board  were  required  to  pole  a  boat  over  the  rapids  except 
when  the  wind  was  favorable.  Only  about  ten  or  twelve 
tons  could  be  carried  over,  the  excess  of  cargo  being  carted 
around  by  wagons,  and  reshipped  at  Thompsonville,  five 
miles  above  "Warehouse  Point.  The  extra  polers  were 
called  "  Fallsmen."  It  required  about  a  day  to  make  the 
passage. 

Barnet,  ten  miles  above  Wells  River  village,  was  the 
ultima  thule  of  navigation,  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls  barring 
all  boat  progress  beyond  that  point.  But  Wells  River  vil- 
lage remained  the  practical  head  of  the  river  transporta- 
tion.    With  the  opening  of  the  upper  canals  larger  amounts 


318  Connecticut  River 

of  goods  began  to  be  brought  up  to  this  depot  and  distrib- 
uted thence  by  wagons  and  carts  farther  up  country. 
The  records  of  a  storage  warehouse  here,  from  1810  to  1816, 
quoted  by  the  historian  of  Newbury,  show  that  towns  sixty 
miles  north  received  their  supplies  in  this  way.  The  cost 
of  transportation  fluctuated  with  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing it,  and  the  changing  rates  of  the  canal  toUs.  In  the 
early  twenties  the  combined  tolls  between  Hartford  and 
Wells  River  averaged  four  dollars  a  ton.  The  added  ex- 
pense of  extra  help  on  the  up  voyage  and  pilotage  down, 
brought  the  average  total  cost  to  nearly  six  dollars  a  ton 
each  way. 

Still  the  River  transportation  business  grew  and  con- 
tinued profitable  to  the  boating  companies  and  the  lower 
River  towns ;  and  for  a  considerable  period  they  controlled 
the  best  of  the  the  up-country  trade  during  the  boating 
seasons,  though  competitors  from  other  directions  were 
pressing  in.  Till  the  eigh teen-twenties  the  chief  compe- 
tition was  with  the  eastern  seaport  towns,  connected  with 
the  north  by  way  of  the  Middlesex  Canal  from  Boston  to 
the  Merrimack  River,  built  largely  by  Boston  capital,  and 
opened  in  1803.  By  this  way  freight  was  transported  up 
the  Merrimack  to  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  without  break- 
ing bulk,  and  thence  teamed  north.  Through  transporta- 
tion rates,  however,  were  higher  than  by  way  of  Hartford 
and  our  River.  Projects  were  early  conceived  for  extend- 
ing the  eastern  system  to  the  upper  Connecticut  by  canals 
from  the  Merrimack,  but  none  was  carried  beyond  the  mak- 
ing of  surveys  for  routes.  The  first  survey  was  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Contoocook  in  Concord  to  the  mouth  of  Sugar 
River  in  Claremont,  made  in  1816.  The  last,  made  eight 
or  nine  years  later,  started  from  the  Pemigewasset,  at 
the  town  of  Wentworth,  and  reached  the  Connecticut  at 


2 
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Locks  and  Canals  319 

Haverhill,  near  the  Wells  River  head  of  navigation. 
Other  siu-veys  of  the  later  period  from  the  east  were 
for  canals  projected  from  Dover,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Portland,  Maine. 

Meanwhile  competition  from  the  nearer  seaboard  had 
threatened  the  lower  River  transportation  centres.  A 
move  had  been  made  by  New  Haven  to  divert  the  trade 
to  her  port  through  a  canal  connecting  New  Haven  with 
the  River  at  a  point  above  Hartford.  This  was  the  blow 
direct  to  Hartford's  interests.  Her  merchants  and  allied 
business  men  combined  to  parry  it  with  a  larger  enterprise. 
Then  ensued  a  warm  campaign  under  the  impulse  of  which 
greater  projects  developed. 

The  New  Haven  scheme  began  with  the  projected  canal 
from  tide-water  at  New  Haven  to  Northampton.  The 
counter  enterprise  of  Hartford  comprehended  the  locking 
of  the  Enfield  Falls,  getting  control  of  the  existing  canals 
above,  and  improving  the  River's  whole  navigable  course 
up  to  Barnet.  The  New  Haven  project  was  embodied  in 
"  The  President,  Directors,  and  Company  of  the  Farming- 
ton  Canal,"  a  Connecticut  corporation  chartered  in  1822, 
empowered  to  build  from  New  Haven  to  the  Connecticut 
state  line  at  Southwick,  Massachusetts ;  and  in  "'  The 
Hampshire  and  Hampden  Canal  Company,"  chartered  by 
Massachusetts  the  following  year,  to  complete  the  work 
from  Southwick  to  Northampton.  The  Hartford  design 
was  organized  in  "  The  Connecticut  River  Company,"  char- 
tered in  1824,  first  by  Connecticut,  then  by  Vermont  and 
New  Hampshire,  to  "  improve  the  boat  navigation  through 
the  Valley  of  Connecticut  River  from  Hartford  toward  its 
source." 

The  forces  thus  arrayed  were  soon  in  strenuous  rivalry, 
and  the  popular  talk  of  the  Valley  became  all  of  canals. 


320  Connecticut  River 

The  next  year,  1825,  the  flowering  season  of  canals  in 
other  parts,  was  full  of  action.  In  the  middle  of  Febru- 
ary a  great  convention  of  two  hundred  delegates  from  the 
principal  towns  assembled  at  the  Vermont  Windsor  and 
adopted  a  memorial  to  Congress  for  aid  in  schemes  of  upper 
River  improvement.  Less  than  ten  days  after,  Massachu- 
setts was  moving  for  a  canal  from  Boston  Harbor  to  the 
Connecticut  and  on  to  the  Hudson.  During  the  summer 
surveying  parties  were  diligently  at  work  up  and  down  the 
River.  A  United  States  engineer  sent  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment in  prompt  response  to  the  Windsor  memorial,  was 
engaged  upon  surveys  from  the  region  of  the  upper  head- 
waters down  to  Barnet ;  and  from  Barnet  toward  Canada, 
for  routes  for  a  canal  to  Lake  Memphremagog.  Simulta- 
neously, Holmes  Hutchinson,  an  engineer  who  had  been 
employed  on  the  Erie  Canal,  was  making  a  careful  survey 
from  Hartford  up  to  Barnet,  at  the  instance  of  the  Connec- 
ticut River  Company.  While  these  surveys  were  under 
way  the  negotiations  of  the  Connecticut  River  Company 
for  the  purchase  of  the  existing  canals  were  progressing. 
In  the  autumn  this  company  issued  a  public  memorial,  out- 
lining an  elaborate  series  of  improvements,  based  on  Hut- 
chinson's report,  and  moved  for  a  broader  charter  to  carry 
out  the  entire  work.  Accordingly  the  Vermont  Assembly 
passed  an  act  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  three  other 
states  concerned,  which  provided  for  a  board  of  commis- 
sioners, three  for  each  state,  to  promote  the  Connecticut 
River  Company  with  sufficient  capital,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  good  the  River's  navigation  from  Hartford  to 
Barnet. 

The  next  year,  1826,  New  Hampshire  and  Connecticut 
confirmed  this  act,  the  latter  state,  however,  with  a  proviso 
protecting  New  Haven's  interests  in  the  Farmington  and 


Locks  and  Canals  321 

Northampton  canal.  Earlier  the  report  of  the  United 
States  engineer's  survey  had  appeared ;  also  the  reports  of 
the  surveys  for  the  proposed  Boston  canal  to  the  Connec- 
ticut and  the  Hudson ;  all  of  which  excited  much  interest 
in  the  Valley.  One  of  the  Massachusetts  surveys  covered 
a  route  entering  the  Connecticut  at  the  mouth  of  Miller's 
River.  Another,  made  by  General  Epaphras  Hoyt,  of 
Deerfield,  was  carried  through  the  Turner's  Falls  canal 
across  the  River  to  Sheldon's  Rock,  and  thence  followed 
the  west  bank  of  the  Deerfield  River  up  to  the  present 
Hoosac  Tunnel,  where  the  mountain  was  to  be  cut  through, 
and  Troy  reached  by  the  Hoosick  River. 

While  these  various  plans  were  developing,  the  New 
Haven  canal  party  had  been  broadening  their  scheme. 
This  now  also  comprehended  a  system  to  Barnet.  In 
June  of  1827,  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York,  "the  great 
mogul  on  canal  matters,"  was  brought  into  the  region  in 
the  interest  of  this  project.  With  General  Hillhouse  and 
other  solid  New  Haven  men  he  made  a  tour  of  inspection 
from  the  then  partly  completed  Farmington  canal  to  the 
upper  country,  following  pretty  closely  the  line  of  the  pro- 
posed extension.  All  along  the  way,  —  at  Northampton, 
Deerfield,  Greenfield,  Brattleborough,  and  above,  —  distin- 
guished civilities,  dinners,  with  toasts,  public  receptions, 
"ovations,"  marked  the  progress  of  the  explorers,  and 
great  expectations  were  aroused.  During  the  same  summer 
United  States  engineers,  sent  at  the  instance  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  Vermont,  were  again  in  the  Valley  surveying, 
this  time  to  determine  the  practicability  of  canal  connec- 
tion between  the  River  and  Lake  Champlain.  The  next 
year,  1828,  the  New  Haven  plans  had  so  far  matured  that 
authorization  was  obtained  for  the  Hampshire  and  Hamp- 
den Company  to  extend  the  system  from  Northampton 


322  Connecticut  River 

to  the  Massachusetts  north  line,  at  Northfield.  Finally, 
in  1829,  the  scheme  was  perfected  in  charters  obtained 
from  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  establishing  "  The 
Connecticut  River  Canal  Company,"  empowered  by  the 
former  state  to  build  from  its  south  line,  at  Vernon,  to 
Barnet  and  thence  to  Lake  Memphremagog ;  and  by  New 
Hampshire,  from  its  south  line,  at  Hinsdale,  to  the  mouth 
of  Israel's  River,  at  Lancaster :  thus  making  provision  for 
a  navigable  canal  from  the  tide-waters  of  Long  Island 
Sound  to  the  Canada  line.  When  these  acts  were  secmred 
the  New  Haven  system  had  just  been  finished  to  Westfield, 
fifteen  miles  short  of  Northampton,  and  the  event  cele- 
brated by  the  launch  of  a  fine  new  canal-boat  in  the  basin. 
At  the  same  time,  however,  the  Connecticut  River 
Company  had  made  a  greater  advance  with  the  completion 
of  the  Enfield  Canal  throughout.  This  accomplishment 
was  marked  by  a  gayer  celebration.  It  was,  too,  a  more 
momentous  aifair  in  the  Valley,  since  it  included  a  demon- 
stration by  the  first  steamboats  built  for  regular  service 
on  the  River  above  tide-water.  The  manoeuvres  of  these 
little  steam-craft,  indeed,  constituted  the  chief  feature  of 
the  occasion.  One  of  them,  the  "  Vermont,"  having  her 
paddles  at  the  stern,  came  down  from  Springfield  with  a 
party  of  celebrators  from  up-river  and  sailed  triumphantly 
through  the  length  of  the  canal  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids. 
There  she  was  met  by  the  "  Blanchard,"  which  had  come 
up  from  Hartford  with  another  party.  '"  The  stockholders 
present,  with  others  from  Hartford,  Springfield  and  the 
neighboring  towns,  then  went  on  board  the  '  Vermont ' 
and  two  other  boats  [flatboats]  towed  by  horses,  and  set 
sail  for  the  head  of  the  falls.  The  boats  were  one  hour 
and  ten  minutes  passing  through  the  canal,  a  distance  of 
five  and  a  half  miles,  including  the  detention  at  the  locks. 


Locks  and  Canals  323 

At  this  place,  after  an  exchange  of  friendly  salutations, 
the  gentlemen  from  Springfield  parted  from  the  company 
and  proceeded  on  their  passage  home  to  Vermont.  After 
a  short  time  spent  in  examining  the  excellent  and  sub- 
stantial construction  of  the  Guard  Lock,  the  rest  of  the 
party  returned  in  the  boats  down  the  canal  to  the  foot  of 
the  falls."  "  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  add,"  the  reporter 
remarks  in  closing  his  decorous  account,  "  that  the  excur- 
sion was  attended  with  a  high  degree  of  interest,  and  the 
party  returned  home  much  gratified  with  the  scenes  they 
had  witnessed." 

The  work  fully  merited  the  commendation  it  received. 
It  was  built  for  water-power  as  well  as  for  navigation,  the 
corporation  wisely  recognizing  the  water-power  as  a  valu- 
able part  of  the  franchise.  It  comprised  a  wing  dam  at 
the  head  of  the  falls  reaching  to  the  middle  of  the  River ; 
a  long  pier  extending  down  from  the  lower  end  of  the  dam 
parallel  to  and  a  hundred  feet  from  the  west  bank,  so 
raised  above  the  River  as  to  form  a  basin  and  safe  entrance 
to  the  guard  lock ;  a  high  breast-wall  of  solid  masonry  at 
right  angles  to  the  pier,  extending  toward  the  bank,  and 
there  united  to  the  guard  lock  ;  twelve  sluices  through  the 
breast-wall  with  sliding  gates,  for  the  free  advantage  of 
water  for  hydraulic  purposes  ;  and  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
canal,  three  locks  of  masonry,  each  of  ten  feet  lift,  sepa- 
rated by  wide  pools  in  which  ascending  and  descending 
boats  could  pass  each  other.  Sixteen  boats  loaded  with 
merchandise  passed  through  the  canal  on  the  opening  day ; 
and  soon  the  fine  boats  of  the  larger  type,  which  now 
could  pass  around  the  rapids,  were  built  and  added  to  the 
River's  fleet. 

A  few  years  later  the  New  Haven  system  was  completed 
to  Northampton,  and  there  it  stopped.     Nothing  was  done 


324  Connecticut  River 

under  the  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  charters.  Nor 
did  the  Connecticut  River  Company  carry  their  scheme 
beyond  the  Enfield  Canal.  The  day  of  canal  and  river 
transportation  was  passing  with  the  steady  approach  of 
the  era  of  railroads.  Spirited  efforts  for  the  sustenance  of 
the  fading  system  were  made  to  the  last.  In  the  autumn 
of  1830  another  convention  was  held  at  the  upper  Windsor 
to  foster  it.  Delegates  were  present  from  each  of  the  four 
states,  and  various  measures  to  this  end  were  adopted. 
Congress  was  again  invoked  for  aid  in  completing  the 
schemes  for  clearing  the  channels.  A  plan  for  relays  of 
steam  freight  and  passenger  boats  at  the  series  of  locks  to 
quicken  transportation  was  developed.  Subsequently  the 
system  of  towing  strings  of  flatboats  by  steamers  was 
instituted. 

At  the  height  of  these  efforts  the  first  charter  for  a 
railroad  in  Vermont  was  granted.  In  the  early  eigh teen- 
forties  railways  were  building  in  the  Valley.  Within  a  few 
years  the  new  system  had  so  extended  that  competition 
was  hopeless.  Then  all  the  canals,  save  that  at  Windsor 
Locks,  were  abandoned  for  traffic,  and  transformed  to  use 
for  manufacturing  purposes.  So  ended  this  chapter  of 
great  endeavors  in  the  closed  history  of  the  up-stream 
commerce  of  the  Beautiful  River. 


o 


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c 


XXIII 

Steamboats  and  Steamboating 

Connecticut  Valley  Inventors  of  the  Steamboat  —  Claims  of  John  Fitch  and 
Samuel  Morey  to  Priority  over  Fulton  —  Morey's  tiny  Steamer  on  the 
River  —  First  Steamboats  in  Regular  Service  —  Gallant  Efforts  for  Steam- 
boat Navigation  to  the  Upper  Valley  —  Triumphant  Progress  of  the  Pioneer 
"Bamet"  up  to  Bellows  Falls  —  The  "Ledyard's"  Achievement  in  Reach- 
ing Wells  River  —  A  Song  of  Triumph  by  a  Local  Bard  —  The  last  Fated 
Up-River  Enterprise — Steamboating  on  the  Lower  Reaches  —  Dickens's 
Voyage  in  the  "  Massachusetts  " — End  of  Passenger  Service  above  Hart- 
ford. 

ON  a  wall  of  the  entrance  hall  of  the  State  House  at 
Hartford  is  a  bronze  portrait  in  bas-relief  with  this 
inscription  :  "  This  tablet  erected  by  the  State  of  Connec- 
ticut commemorates  the  genius,  patience,  and  perseverance 
of  John  Fitch,  a  native  of  the  town  of  Windsor,  the  first 
to  apply  steam  successfully  to  the  propulsion  of  vessels 
through  water." 

Two  hundred  miles  up  the  River,  in  the  Vermont  vil- 
lage of  Fairlee,  is  deposited  the  model  of  the  engine  of  the 
first  American  steamboat  propelled  by  paddle-wheels,  in- 
vented by  another  Connecticut  Valley  man,  —  Captain 
Samuel  Morey  of  Orford,  opposite  on  the  New  Hampshire 
side,  —  and  launched  on  our  River. 

Fitch's  first  steamboat  was  in  successful  operation  more 
than  twenty  years  before  Fulton's  "  Clermont "  was  put  on 
the  Hudson  ;  Morey's  fourteen  years  before.  Fitch  made 
his  original  experiments  in  Pennsylvania,  and  his  first  boat 
plied  the  Delaware.  Morey's  first  boat  was  directly  asso- 
ciated with  the  Connecticut,  for  on  its  waters  it  was  con- 
ceived and  constructed  as  well  as  operated. 

325 


326  Connecticut  River 

For  both  of  these  Connecticut  Valley  inventors  claims 
of  priority  over  Fulton  in  discovering  the  principles  de- 
veloped in  his  boat  were  defended  by  ardent  advocates  with 
vigor  if  not  asperity  in  the  controversy  which  followed 
Fulton's  achievement ;  and  the  facts  of  record  well  sustain 
their  contention.  Without  disparaging  the  fame  of  Ful- 
ton as  the  earliest  to  combine  and  utilize  certain  principles 
in  the  construction  of  the  practically  useful  steamboat,  to 
Fitch  and  Morey,  independently  of  each  other,  may  fairly 
be  accorded  the  honor  of  having  originated  the  idea,  and 
to  Morey  the  credit  of  inventing  the  mechanism  which 
Fulton  applied.  To  Fitch  is  ascribed  the  distinction  with- 
out question  (for  James  Rumsey's  claim  to  priority  Fitch 
completely  disproved)  of  having  first  exhibited  in  American 
waters  a  steamboat  propelled  by  movable  paddles.  From 
Morey,  before  Fulton,  dispassionate  examiners  of  the  record 
trace  the  development  of  steamboat  propulsion  by  paddle- 
wheels.  In  their  judgment,  the  title  bestowed  upon  him 
of  "the  father  of  steamboat  navigation  in  America"  is 
fully  warranted. 

While  Fitch's  achievements,  attained  elsewhere,  are 
commemorated  in  the  lower  Valley  by  virtue  of  its  having 
been  his  birthplace,  in  the  Upper  Valley,  where  it  was  de- 
veloped, Morey' s  invention  is  held  in  closer  remembrance, 
though  yet  unmarked  by  public  memorial.  Fitch's  steam 
craft  had  been  sailing  the  Delaware  some  time  before  Morey 's 
experiments  began,  but  there  was  no  competition  or  inter- 
course between  them.  They  were  working  in  different 
fields,  and  on  different  lines.  Both  were  remarkable  char- 
acters, but  with  few  qualities  in  common  except  that  of 
inventive  genius.  Morey  was  a  farmer,  a  man  of  affairs, 
and  a  speculator  in  scientific  matters.  Fitch  was  an 
artisan,  possessed  of  much  mechanical  ingenuity.     Leaving 


Steamboats  and  Steamboating  327 

his  home  in  the  Valley  at  twenty-five,  and  pushing  west- 
ward, he  employed  his  talents  in  various  pursuits  before 
making  his  essays  in  steamboat  construction.  He  had 
been  a  journeyman  watchmaker  in  New  Jersey;  a  gun- 
smith for  the  American  forces  during  a  part  of  the  Revo- 
lution ;  an  itinerant  vendor  of  watches  and  clocks,  and  a 
deputy  surveyor  for  Virginia. 

When  Fitch  conceived  his  great  idea,  which  came  sud- 
denly to  him,  as  he  afterward  related,  he  was  "  ignorant 
altogether  that  a  steam-engine  had  ever  been  invented," 
and  "  the  propelling  of  a  boat  by  steam  was  as  new  as  the 
rowing  of  a  boat  by  angels."  That  was  in  the  spring  of 
1785.  During  the  following  summer  he  succeeded  in 
fashioning  a  rude  engine  in  a  blacksmith  shop  with  the  help 
of  the  workmen  there ;  and  by  autumn  he  had  completed 
drawings  and  models  of  a  steamboat  which  he  presented 
to  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia. 
The  next  year  his  first  crude  boat  was  on  the  Dela- 
ware. Upon  its  showing  and  his  declarations  he  then  se- 
cured from  New  Jersey  the  exclusive  right  for  fourteen 
years  of  constructing  and  using  all  kinds  of  water-craft 
"  impelled  by  the  force  of  fire  or  steam,"  on  all  the  navi- 
gable waters  of  that  state.  The  next  year  similar  rights 
were  obtained  from  the  states  of  New  York,  Delaware, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia.  These  further  franchises 
were  secured  probably  upon  the  exhibition  of  his  second 
and  more  perfected  boat,  the  trial  trip  of  which  in  August 
of  that  year  was  witnessed  by  members  of  the  convention 
for  framing  the  Federal  Constitution,  then  in  session 
in  Philadelphia,  and  other  public  men.  This  boat  was 
forty-five  feet  long,  twelve  feet  beam,  with  an  engine  of 
twelve-inch  cylinder,  and  six  oars,  or  paddles,  on  each  side. 
Raising  funds  through  the  sale  of  a  map  of  the  Northwest 


328  Connecticut  River 

Territory,  which  he  drew  and  engraved  himself,  and  in- 
teresting a  few  men  of  means  in  the  hazard  of  a  stock 
company,  he  now  proceeded  to  build  a  larger  boat  and  of  dif- 
ferent pattern.  This  was  sixty  feet  long,  eight  feet  beam, 
and  had  paddles  at  the  stern.  Its  trial  trip  was  on  a  run 
of  twenty  miles.  The  best  time  made  was  only  three  miles 
an  hour,  and  the  performance  discouraged  the  stockholders. 
After  a  while,  however,  they  rallied,  and  Fitch  produced 
another  boat,  encouragingly  named  "  The  Perseverance." 
Although  an  improvement  on  its  predecessor,  its  average 
run  per  hour  was  only  ten  minutes  better.  So  the  "  Perse- 
verance" was  also  pronounced  unsatisfactory.  Immedi- 
ately Fitch  set  to  work  upon  the  construction  of  a  boat 
with  larger  machinery.  This  took  the  water  in  April, 
1790,  and  great  was  the  joy  of  the  indomitable  inventor 
when  it  displayed  a  speed  of  eight  miles  an  hour !  "  Thus 
has  been  effected  by  little  John  Fitch  and  Harry  Voight," 
he  exclaims,  "one  of  the  greatest  and  most  useful  arts 
that  has  ever  been  introduced  into  the  world ;  and  although 
the  world  and  my  country  do  not  thank  me  for  it,  yet  it 
gives  me  heartfelt  satisfaction."  The  principle  upon  which 
this  boat  worked  lay  in  the  application  of  the  cranks  to 
twelve  oars,  suspended  perpendicularly  from  an  elevated 
frame,  and  making  a  stroke  upon  the  water  similar  to  the 
paddle  of  a  canoe.  During  the  summer  of  1790  it  was 
run  as  a  regular  passenger  boat  between  Philadelphia  and 
Burlington. 

Fitch  now  felt  assured  of  success,  and  after  obtaining 
a  United  States  patent  he  planned  a  boat  large  enough  to 
carry  freight,  with  the  intention  of  sending  it  to  New 
Orleans  for  navigation  on  the  Mississippi.  But  when  the 
machinery  was  nearly  completed  a  storm  broke  the  boat 
from  its  moorings  and  drove  it  on  an  island.     This  was  a 


Steamboats  and  Steamboating  329 

final  blow  to  the  stock  company.  The  stockholders  refused 
to  put  out  more  money;  and  since  the  inventor's  own 
resources  were  exhausted,  the  enterprise  had  to  be  aban- 
doned. A  few  years  later  Fitch  was  in  France,  at  the 
solicitation  of  Aaron  Vail,  a  former  stockholder,  and  at 
that  time  United  States  consul  at  L' Orient,  who  believed 
that  Fitch's  steamboat  could  be  profitably  introduced 
abroad.  But  it  was  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution, 
and  the  requisite  pecuniary  aid  could  not  be  obtained. 
Then  leaving  his  papers  and  specifications  with  Mr.  Vail 
(which  Fulton  when  later  in  France  making  his  studies 
was  permitted  to  examine).  Fitch  went  to  London,  whence 
he  returned  to  America,  working  his  passage  as  a  common 
sailor.  Coming  back  to  his  birthplace  in  the  Valley  he 
made  his  home  for  a  while  with  his  kindred  at  East  Wind- 
sor. Still  intent  upon  his  invention,  he  soon  contrived  a 
rude  steamboat  out  of  a  ship's  yawl  moved  by  a  screw 
propeller,  which  was  given  a  trial  in  New  York  on  the  old 
"Collect"  (the  large  pond  where  is  now  the  "Tombs") 
with  Chancellor  Livingston,  the  patron  of  Fulton,  among 
those  on  board.  Next  drifting  to  Bardston,  Kentucky, 
his  last  attempt  was  in  the  model  of  a  steamboat  only 
three  feet  long  sailed  on  a  neighboring  stream.  Then  in 
the  summer  of  1796,  worn  and  wearied  with  misfortune 
and  hardship,  he  died  by  his  own  hand  in  the  village 
tavern.  He  left  a  bundle  of  papers  in  a  sealed  packet  to 
the  Franklin  Library  of  Philadelphia,  to  be  opened  thirty 
years  after  his  death.  They  were  found  to  include  a 
memoir  together  with  a  detailed  account  of  his  experi- 
ments. From  these  documents  the  story  of  his  work  has 
been  drawn. 

Morey's  experiments  were  begun  in  1790,  the  year  of 
Fitch's  highest  achievement.     For  a  decade  before  Morey 


330  Connecticut  River 

had  devoted  much  time  to  experiments  on  light  and  heat, 
and  in  studies  connected  with  mechanics.  His  aim  now 
was  to  improve  the  steam-engine,  particularly  for  applica- 
tion to  propelling  boats  by  means  of  paddle-wheels.  The 
result  of  his  efforts  was  an  engine  and  machinery  of  his 
own  construction  set  in  a  tiny  boat  large  enough  only  for 
himself  and  a  single  companion.  When  all  was  completed 
the  trial  trip  was  made  up  and  down  the  River  between 
Orford  and  Fairlee.  This  took  place  on  a  summer  Sunday 
in  1792  or  1793,  while  the  people  were  at  meeting,  to 
avoid  notice.  The  boat  was  run  for  some  miles  up  the 
River  against  the  current  to  a  point  near  the  present 
bridge  between  the  two  towns,  and  down  again  to  lower 
Orford,  working  successfully  in  all  its  parts.  After  some 
improvements  in  the  machinery,  and  several  more  satis- 
factory trips  over  the  same  course,  astonishing  to  the  peo- 
ple, the  invention  was  considered  sufficiently  matured  for 
exhibition  to  the  outside  world. 

Accordingly  Captain  Morey  took  the  model  to  New 
York  and  there  built  a  new  boat  to  demonstrate  his  prin- 
ciple. During  three  successive  summers  he  tried  many 
experiments  in  modifying  the  engine,  and  in  propelling. 
He  had  frequent  interviews  with  Livingston  and  Fulton, 
and  freely  explained  his  mechanism,  in  which  they  became 
much  interested.  Called  back  to  his  home  by  domestic 
affairs,  the  boat  was  brought  to  Hartford,  as  a  more  con- 
venient place  for  working,  and  here  he  ran  her  on  the 
River  in  the  presence  of  many  persons.  Having  at  Orford 
made  sundry  improvements  in  his  engine,  he  returned 
to  New  York  and  applied  the  power  to  a  wheel  in  the 
stern.  By  this  means  the  boat  was  propelled  at  the  rate 
of  about  five  miles  an  hour.  A  trip  was  made  to  Green- 
wich, on  the  Sound,  and  back,  with  the  brothers  Livingston 


TJ  ra 


1-1     ^ 
P4  .« 


Steamboats  and  Steamboatinsf  331 


o 


and  others  then  interested  in  steamboating  as  passengers, 
all  of  whom  expressed  "  very  great  satisfaction  at  her  per- 
formance and  with  the  engine."  But  greater  speed  was 
desired,  and  under  the  encouragement  of  Chancellor  Liv- 
ingston, and  the  promise  of  a  considerable  sum,  provided 
he  should  succeed  in  making  a  boat  run  eight  miles  an 
hour, — the  speed  attained  by  Fitch's  boat  in  1790  — 
Morey  continued  his  exertions  through  the  following  sum- 
mer. Going  to  Bordentown  on  the  Delaware  in  June, 
1797,  he  there  devised  the  plan  of  propelling  by  means  of 
two  wheels,  one  on  either  side,  and  accomplished  his  object. 
This  plan  comprised  the  shaft  running  across  the  boat  with 
a  crank  in  the  middle  worked  from  the  beam  of  the  engine 
with  a  "shackle  bar," — the  same  mode  in  principle  as 
that  afterward  used  in  the  large  boats  put  on  the  Hudson. 
Morey' s  boat  thus  equipped  was  '"  openly  exhibited  in 
Philadelphia."  "  From  that  time,"  to  quote  directly  from  a 
statement  of  Morey' s  made  in  1818,  of  which  the  foregoing 
is  a  summary,  "  I  considered  every  obstacle  removed,  and 
no  difficulty  remaining  or  impediment  existing  to  the 
construction  of  steamboats  on  a  large  scale,  and  I  took 
out  patents  for  my  improvements.  The  notoriety  of  these 
successful  experiments  enabled  me  to  make  very  advan- 
tageous arrangements  with  Dr.  Allison  [the  Rev.  Burgess 
Allison,  one  of  the  chaplains  of  the  lower  house  of  Con- 
gress] and  others,  to  carry  steamboats  into  effectual  opera- 
tion ;  but  a  series  of  misfortunes  to  him  and  others  concerned 
soon  after  deprived  them  of  the  means  of  prosecuting  the 
design,  defeated  their  purpose,  and  disappointed  my  expec- 
tations. But  I  did  not  wholly  relinquish  the  pursuit,  from 
time  to  time  devising  improvements  in  the  engine." 

Morey  felt  keenly  the  loss  of  the  honor  and  the  emolu- 
ments of  his  invention,  and  believed  to  the  end  of  his  life 


332  Connecticut  River 

that  he  had  been  unjustly  deprived  of  them.  He  never 
had  any  doubt  but  that  he  had  a  right  to  take  out  a  patent 
for  the  application  of  two  wheels  to  a  steamboat  (which 
antedated  Fulton's  patent  by  several  years).  At  "  much 
labor  and  expense  and  the  employment  of  years  devoted  to 
the  pursuit,"  he  wrote,  he  had  '^'actually  succeeded,  so  that 
nothing  was  wanting  to  carry  this  mode  of  navigation  into 
effect  but  pecuniary  means  "  ;  and  it  seemed  to  him  "  pecu- 
liarly hard"  that  "the  originator  of  these  improvements 
by  which  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Fulton  were  enabled 
principally  to  succeed,  should  have  had  his  right  over- 
looked and  himself  excluded  from  the  very  waters  [New 
York]  where  many  of  his  experiments  were  made." 

Happily,  however,  these  slights  of  fortune  did  not 
embitter  Morey's  latter  years.  He  continued  the  genial 
philosopher  and  practical  student  of  useful  arts.  Sketches 
by  reminiscent  contemporaries  present  him  a  fine  figure  of 
a  man.  ''  He  was  a  size  larger  than  Daniel  Webster,"  says 
one.  "  He  loved  sports  and  was  ahead  of  all,  whether  in 
hunting,  ball-playing,  or  any  of  the  sports  of  the  day." 
He  could  shoot  a  deer  on  the  full  run,  and  hawks  on  the 
wing.  He  was  philanthropic,  generous,  just-minded,  "  ten- 
der-hearted and  humane."  "  His  frown  would  frighten 
any  man,  but  his  smile  was  peace."  A  pleasing  picture, 
is  it  not,  of  old-time  stalwart  manhood,  full  rounded  ? 
But  the  long  Valley  abounded  in  such  characters.  Morey's 
father.  Colonel,  later  General  Israel  Morey,  a  founder  of 
Orf ord,  and  a  leader  in  the  College  Party  in  the  "  Play  for 
a  State,"  as  has  been  seen,  was  of  the  same  type- 

Captain  Morey  spent  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life  in 
Fairlee,  and  died  there  in  1843.  It  has  long  been  a  tradi- 
tion in  the  village  that  his  original  boat  was  sunk  in 
Fairlee  Pond  (now  Morey  Lake  and  a  favorite  little  sum- 


to 
-5 


Steamboats  and  Steamboating  333 

mer  resort) ;  but  all  efforts  have  failed  to  discover  any 
trace  of  it.  The  most  systematic  search  was  made  some 
years  ago  by  a  committee  of  the  New  Hampshire  Anti- 
quarian Society.  The  conclusion  expressed  by  an  Orford 
friend  of  Morey,  —  Dr.  Willard  Hosford,  his  physician,  — 
that  the  original  boat  was  "  worked  up  for  firewood,"  and 
that  the  traditions  concerning  it  have  clustered  about  a 
later  boat  built  by  him  which  is  known  to  have  been  filled 
with  stones  and  sunk  in  this  pond,  was  apparently  accepted 
by  this  committee. 

The  first  steamboats  in  regular  service  were  put  on  the 
lower  River,  in  or  about  1824,  to  ply  between  Hartford 
and  New  York,  with  various  landings  below  Hartford. 
These  were  the  "  Oliver  Ellsworth,"  named  for  the  cele- 
brated Connecticut  jurist,  born  in  Windsor,  and  the  "  Mac- 
donough,"  for  Captain  Thomas  Macdonough,  the  "  hero  of 
Champlain  "  in  the  War  of  1812,  who,  after  winning  his 
laurels,  had  lived  in  Middletown.  Both  were  commodious 
boats  for  that  time,  with  berths  (staterooms  were  a  luxury 
of  a  later  day)  for  sixty  passengers.  For  navigation 
above  tide-water  the  first  steamer  made  her  debut  in  1826. 
She  was  the  "  Barnet,"  so  called  felicitously,  as  her 
sponsors  felt,  in  their  confidence  that  she  would  success- 
fully reach  the  ultima  thule  of  the  River's  commerce  at 
Barnet,  Vermont. 

The  story  of  the  "Barnet's"  efforts  and  of  the  gallant 
dashes  for  the  unattainable  of  those  which  came  after  her, 
in  which  the  mettle  of  the  Valley  men  of  action  was  per- 
sistently exhibited  against  most  untoward  conditions,  con- 
stitutes another  animated  and  picturesque  chapter  in  the 
closed  history  of  up-river  navigation. 

The  "  Barnet  "  was  a  venture  of  the  Connecticut  River 


334  Connecticut  River 

Company  primarily  to  demonstrate  the  feasibility  of  steam 
navigation  in  the  upper  waters,  and  so  influence  legislation 
that  the  company  were  seeking.  She  was  hastily  built,  at 
New  York,  and  equipped  only  sufficiently  for  her  special 
purpose.  She  was  of  the  "'  wheelbarrow  "  pattern,  with 
an  extreme  length  of  seventy-five  feet,  and  a  width  of 
fourteen  and  a  half  feet ;  and  her  draft  in  the  water  was 
less  than  two  feet.  The  "  Macdonough  "  towed  her  from 
New  York  through  the  Sound,  and  she  reached  Hartford 
at  the  close  of  November.  A  week  later,  undeterred  hy 
the  lateness  of  the  season,  she  was  started  on  her  up-river 
voyage  for  distant  Barnet,  with  a  "  barge  "  in  tow  con- 
taining officers  of  the  company  and  their  guests. 

Great  was  the  interest  of  the  people  who  gathered  on 
the  banks  to  witness  her  departure.  As  she  gallantly 
steamed  toward  Warehouse  Point  fusillades  of  musketry 
greeted  her  from  both  sides  of  the  River.  The  noise  of 
the  exhaust  steam  from  her  engine  was  heard  a  great  dis- 
tance off.  All  went  well  till  the  Enfield  rapids  were 
struck.  Here  wind  and  tide,  and  a  heavily  laden  flatboat 
coming  down  stream,  presented  a  combination  of  obstacles 
which  she  could  not  overcome,  and  she  was  brought  to  a 
standstill.  So  she  returned  with  her  company  ingloriously 
to  Hartford. 

A  day  or  two  after,  however,  when  her  machinery  had 
been  strengthened,  a  second  start  was  made  with  the  same 
company.  This  time  the  falls  were  successfully  passed, 
thirty  fallsmen  assisting,  poling  from  scows  lashed  on  each 
side  of  the  steamer.  Then  she  moved  on  to  Longmeadow 
and  Springfield  at  "  a  good  rate."  At  Springfield  she  was 
welcomed  with  "  true  neighborly  kindness."  The  populace 
thronged  to  the  landing,  leaving  the  streets  deserted.  In 
the  court  of  common  pleas  a  lawyer  was  arguing  a  cause 


o 


Steamboats  and  Steamboating  335 

before  well  filled  chairs  when  word  came  of  her  arrival. 
Instantly  the  court-room  cleared  of  all  save  judge,  jury, 
speaker,  and  opposing  counsel.  Salutes  were  fired,  the 
town  bells  were  rung,  and  the  "  Barnet's "  party  were 
entertained  over  night  with  joyous  hospitality.  The  next 
morning  the  voyage  was  resumed,  and  the  boat  ascended 
the  River  with  increased  speed.  At  Willimansett  Falls 
the  enthusiastic  people  drew  her  over  these  rapids.  The 
next  day  she  passed  easily  through  the  South  Hadley 
canal.  At  Northampton  a  "thousand  persons,"  "many 
of  whom  had  never  before  seen  a  steamboat,"  were  assem- 
bled on  the  then  new  bridge  and  the  adjoining  banks.  As 
she  steamed  up  to  the  town  a  flag  was  hoisted  on  the  bridge, 
salutes  were  fired,  and  the  people  wildly  huzzahed.  That 
night  she  remained  at  Northampton,  while  her  company 
were  given  a  public  supper  at  the  tavern,  and  congratu- 
latory speech  was  exchanged.  At  the  close  of  the  follow- 
ing day  the  mouth  of  the  Deerfield  was  reached,  and  here 
a  turn  was  made  into  that  river  for  a  run  up  to  "  Cheap- 
side,"  in  Deerfield.  At  the  turn  the  citizens  of  Montague, 
assembled  on  the  Connecticut's  bank  near  the  bridge,  fired 
a  salute,  which  the  "  Barnet "  returned.  As  she  neared 
Cheapside  landing  the  people  of  Deerfield  gave  her  thirteen 
guns,  to  which  she  responded  with  double  the  number. 
Sunday  was  spent  at  Cheapside.  On  Monday  the  voyage 
was  continued.  Greenfield  was  passed,  and  Northfield 
and  Brattleborough,  with  demonstrations  at  each  place. 
At  length  Bellows  Falls  was  reached  amid  more  cannon- 
firing  and  peal  of  bells.  It  was  recorded  with  pride  that 
from  Northampton  up  to  this  point  the  advance,  against 
a  strong  northwest  wind,  had  been  at  the  rate  of  five  miles 
an  hour,  except  when  passing  the  rapids  !  After  exhibit- 
ing her  powers  in  the  eddy  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  to  the 


336  Connecticut  River 

admiration  of  the  assembled  people  on  either  shore,  she 
ran  gaily  into  the  lower  lock  of  the  canal.  Here  a  com- 
mittee of  the  villagers  formally  received  her  company  with 
warm  speech  of  welcome,  to  which  as  fervid  response  was 
made.  Then  company  and  hosts  marched  up  to  the  Man- 
sion House,  a  fine  country  inn,  and  there,  joined  by  other 
choice  men  of  the  village  and  neighboring  towns,  "sat 
down  to  an  elegant  dinner."  Toasts  followed  the  repast, 
the  announcement  of  each  accompanied  by  the  roar  of 
cannon.  The  crowning  toast  was  to  "  The  town  of  Barnet : 
May  she  speedily  be  gratified  by  the  sight  of  her  first- 
born." 

But  this  felicity  never  was  hers.  For  the  triumphal 
voyage  ended  at  Bellows  Falls,  the  little  craft  being  too 
wide  to  pass  through  the  locks  here.  The  return  trip  was 
made  in  a  leisurely  way,  and  back  at  Hartford  the  com- 
pletion of  the  cruise  was  celebrated  with  a  grand  supper 
at  John  Morgan's  Coffee  House  and  more  toasts  and 
speeches.  Then  the  "  Barnet "  was  laid  up  for  the  winter. 
And  so  ended  her  brief  active  life.  She  sailed  no  more, 
and  at  length  was  broken  to  pieces. 

The  "  Blanchard  "  and  the  "  Vermont "  were  the  "  Bar- 
net's  "  successors.  These  were  stauncher  craft,  and  high 
hopes  were  entertained  of  their  performances.  Both  were 
built  on  the  River,  —  at  Springfield ;  and  their  builder, 
Thomas  Blanchard,  was  an  ingenious  Springfield  me- 
chanic, then  employed  in  the  United  States  arsenal.  The 
"  Blanchard  "  was  launched  in  the  summer  of  1828  ;  the 
"  Vermont "  in  May  the  following  year.  The  "  Blanchard  " 
was  a  side-wheeler,  and  could  carry  sixty  or  more  passen- 
gers. Although  she  could  run  the  Enfield  rapids  under 
favorable  conditions,  she  was  practically  little  better  than 
the  "  Barnet "  to  overcome  them.     She  did  not  venture  far 


D 


a 


w 


Steamboats  and  Steamboating  337 

up  river.  The  "  Vermont "  was  constructed  on  a  different 
plan.  She  was  seventy-five  feet  long,  fifteen  wide,  and 
drew  only  one  foot  of  water ;  while  her  wheel  was  astern 
far  enough  to  work  in  the  dead  water.  After  displaying 
her  powers  in  several  trips  between  Springfield  and  Hart- 
ford, she  set  out  with  a  hundred  passengers  for  the  up-river 
goal. 

The  voyage  occupied  the  season  between  August  and 
October.  Like  the  "Barnet"  her  progress  was  marked 
by  enthusiastic  demonstrations  on  shore,  the  discharge  of 
cannon,  the  ringing  of  bells,  with  joyous  receptions  at 
the  various  stopping-places.  She  passed  the  limit  of  the 
"Barnet's"  voyage  easily  in  October,  going  comfortably 
through  the  Bellows  Falls  locks.  Thence  she  steamed  up 
to  Windsor,  and  later  on  to  the  locks  of  Water-Queeche. 
But  farther  she  could  not  go.  The  same  insurmountable 
obstacles  here  confronted  her  that  the  "  Barnet "  had  met 
below.  These  locks  were  too  narrow  for  her.  So  this  second 
attempt  failed  of  full  success.  The  "  Vermont "  returned 
to  Windsor,  and  in  November  made  the  voyage  down 
stream,  arriving  below  in  season  to  participate  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  completed  Enfield  canal.  For  a  brief  season 
she  was  run  between  Bellows  Falls  and  Windsor.  Subse- 
quently she  was  put  into  regular  service  on  a  Springfield 
and  Hartford  line,  in  company  with  the  "Blanchard." 
Then  arose  a  lively  competition  between  these  steamboats 
and  the  stage  lines  running  on  each  side  of  the  River. 

Another  little  Springfield-built  steamer,  constructed  for 
the  purpose,  made  the  third  attempt  to  reach  Barnet  from 
Hartford.  This  was  the  "Ledyard,"  named  for  John 
Ledyard,  the  famous  Connecticut-born  traveller,  who  in 
1770,  when  a  student  at  Dartmouth,  astonished  the  Valley 
with  his  voyage  from  Hanover  to  Hartford  in  a  canoe 


338  Connecticut  River 

which  he  had  fashioned  from  a  great  tree.  The  "  Led- 
yard  "  venture  was  made  in  the  summer  following  that  of 
the  "Vermont."  Under  the  skilful  handling  of  her  cap- 
tain, Samuel  Nutt,  a  successful  boat-builder  of  White  River 
Junction,  she  advanced  as  far  as  Wells  River  village.  Thus 
she  was  the  next  to  cover  the  course  of  Captain  Morey's 
pioneer  steamer  between  Orford  and  Fairlee  forty  years 
before.  This  victorious  passage  beyond  the  bounds  of  her 
predecessors  inspired  a  song  of  triumph  from  a  local  poet, 
culminating  in  these  choice  lines : 

"  'Tis  gone,  'tis  gone,  the  day  is  past 
And  night's  dark  shade  is  o'er  us  cast ; 
And  further,  further,  further  still 
The  steamboat  's  winding  through  the  vale, 
The  cannon  roar  o'er  hill,  through  dale. 
Hail  to  the  day  when  Captain  Nutt 
Sailed  up  the  fair  Connecticut ! " 

But  here,  within  ten  miles  of  the  goal,  the  "  Ledyard  " 
came  to  grief.  She  stranded  on  a  bar  just  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Ammonoosuc.  A  long  rope  was  hitched  to 
her,  and  a  line  of  lusty  river-men  and  others,  wading  in 
the  stream,  tugged  hard  to  haul  her  over.  But  to  no  pur- 
pose. So  this  adventure  ended.  The  "  Ledyard  "  returned 
to  Springfield  and  became  employed  in  the  less  ambitious 
service  of  tugging  freight  boats  in  the  Massachusetts 
Reach. 

The  scheme  of  relays  of  steamboats  to  cover  the  dis- 
tance from  Hartford  to  Wells  River  in  sections  between 
the  canals,  as  advised  by  the  Windsor  convention  of  1830, 
now  matured.  "  The  Connecticut  River  Valley  Steam 
Boat  Company  "  put  on  a  fleet  of  light-draft  boats,  each 
built  in  the  section  which  it  was  to  cover.  Three  were 
assigned  to  the  sections  below  Turner's  Falls.     The  "  Wil- 


•'fif^l 


i  '?-> 


>  l-H 

■•      Q 


Steamboats  and  Steamboating  339 

liam  Holmes  "  was  built  at  Bellows  Falls  for  the  run  between 
Turner's  Falls  and  that  point ;  the  "  David  Porter,"  at 
Hartland,  Vermont,  to  ply  between  Bellows  Falls  and  the 
Sumner's  Falls  locks ;  and  the  "  Adam  Duncan  "  at  White 
River  Junction,  to  cover  the  upper  section.  They  were 
simple  affairs,  costing  to  build  and  equip  less  than  five 
thousand  dollars  each.  The  scheme  proved  disastrous 
after  a  single  season  of  operation.  The  first  year  closed 
with  a  balance  against  the  company,  and  assessment  on 
the  shares.  The  following  year  the  company  failed.  The 
"  William  Holmes  "  was  operated  for  a  year  or  two  longer 
between  Bellows  Falls  and  Charlestown,  with  occasional 
excursions  farther  north,  but  without  profit.  At  length 
she  was  stripped  of  her  machinery  and  her  hull  cast  on 
the  River's  bank.  There  it  lay  rotting  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  finally  disappeared,  carried  away  by  a  freshet. 
The  "Adam  Duncan"  met  her  fate  on  her  second  trip. 
This  was  a  Fourth-of-July  excursion  to  Hanover.  During 
the  passage  the  connecting  pipe  between  the  boilers  burst, 
causing  the  steam  and  water  to  escape.  One  of  the  pas- 
sengers jumped  overboard  and  was  drowned.  The  boat  was 
hauled  ashore,  stripped  of  her  machinery,  and  abandoned. 
With  the  melancholy  failure  of  this  enterprise,  up-river 
steamboating  came  to  an  end.  Thereafter  the  service, 
except  for  freight  boats,  was  confined  to  the  Massachusetts 
Reach,  till  it  was  superseded  by  the  railway:  then  to 
below  the  head  of  tide-water.  The  line  between  Spring- 
field and  Hartford  and  intermediary  points  flourished  till 
the  opening  of  the  railroad  between  these  two  cities  in 
1844,  when  its  career  ended.  Diu-ing  its  period  of  greatest 
activity  several  steamers  were  added  to  its  "  fleet,"  in  pat^ 
tern  superior  to  the  original  "  Blanchard  "  and  "  Vermont." 
There  were  the  "  Massachusetts  "  with  her  deck-cabin  and 


340  Connecticut  Riv^er 

double  engine,  the  most  complete  steamboat  that  had  yet 
been  seen  on  the  River  above  Hartford ;  and  the  "  James 
Dwight,"  the  "  Agawam,"  the  "  Phoenix,"  the  "Franklin," 
all  in  high  favor  for  one  excellence  or  another. 

But  crude  and  primitive  they  yet  were,  and  so  they 
appeared  to  the  travelled  eye.  It  was  the  "  Massachusetts" 
that  Dickens,  making  the  passage  in  February,  1842, 
droUy  describes  in  those  American  Notes  which  vibrated 
so  harshly  on  the  then  sensitive  national  nerves : 

"  I  omitted  to  ask  the  question,  but  I  should  think  it  must  have 
been  of  about  half  a  pony  power.  Mr.  Paap,  the  celebrated  Dwarf, 
might  have  lived  and  died  happily  in  the  cabin,  which  was  fitted 
with  common  sash-windows  like  an  ordinary  dwelling-house.  These 
windows  had  bright-red  curtains,  too,  hung  on  a  slack  string  across 
the  lower  panes ;  so  that  it  looked  like  the  parlour  of  a  Lilliputian 
public -house,  which  had  got  atioat  in  a  flood  or  some  other  water 
accident,  and  was  drifting  nobody  knew  where.  But  even  in  this 
chamber  there  was  a  rocking-chair.  It  would  be  impossible  to  get 
on  anywhere  in  America  without  a  rocking-chair.  I  am  afraid  to 
tell  how  many  feet  short  this  vessel  was,  or  how  many  feet  narrow ; 
to  apply  the  words  length  and  width  to  such  measurements  would 
be  a  contradiction  in  terms.  But  I  may  say  that  Ave  all  kept  the 
middle  of  the  deck  lest  the  boat  should  unexpectedly  tip  over ; 
and  that  the  machinery  by  some  surprising  process  of  condensation, 
worked  between  it  and  the  keel :  the  whole  forming  a  warm  sandwich, 
about  three  feet  thick." 

Slight  as  was  their  draught,  these  little  steamers  often 
encountered  difficulties  in  their  runs.  It  was  not  uncom- 
mon to  resort  to  extraneous  aid  in  shoal  places.  "  I  have 
often  seen  Captain  Peck,  of  the  'Agawam,'"  says  one 
narrator  of  reminiscences,  '"  when  the  water  was  exceed- 
ingly low,  step  over  into  the  River  at  Scantic  bar,  and 
with  a  lever  lift  up  the  boat  and  carry  her  over  the  sand 
into  deeper  water  beyond." 


&; '. 


^-1 


<n 


o 


o 


C/3 


o 


Steamboats  and  Steamboating  341 

When  the  Springfield  and  Hartford  service  was  aban- 
doned this  ^^ fleet"  had  become  reduced  to  four  steamers. 
One  of  them  was  sold  and  taken  to  Philadelphia,  the  others 
went  to  Maine  and  were  put  on  the  Kennebec.  The 
"  Blanchard "  had  become  a  freight  towing  boat  some 
time  before.  The  "  Massachusetts  "  had  been  burned  in 
1843  at  her  wharf  in  Hartford.  The  freight  towing 
business  continued  to  thrive  "for  some  years  longer,  with 
regular  daily  service  between  Hartford  and  Springfield, 
Northampton,  South  Hadley,  and  Greenfield;  and  up- 
river,  as  freight  offered,  to  Brattleborough  and  Windsor, 
Vermont. 

Below,  from  Hartford,  steam  propellers  remained  longer 
in  service.  These  craft  first  appeared  on  the  River  in 
1844.  They  superseded  the  earlier  packets  fitted  for  both 
passengers  and  freight,  which  sailed  between  the  same 
ports,  notably  New  York  and  Boston.  The  packets  were 
generally  fine  vessels.  Those  of  the  Hartford  and  Boston 
line,  established  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812,  con- 
sisting of  topsail  schooners,  with  cabins  handsomely  fin- 
ished, are  described  as  especially  fine.  Gradually  the 
propellers  were  superseded  or  transformed  into  tugs  for 
towing  freight-barges,  sometimes  in  strings. 

The  head  of  all  navigation  is  now  Holyoke,  the  work 
of  United  States  engineers  in  improving  the  channel  making 
it  possible  for  boats  drawing  four  or  five  feet  to  pass  above 
Springfield.  But  the  steamboat  service  ends  at  Hartford, 
and  is  confined  to  the  "  Hartford  Line,"  evolved  from  the 
pioneer  establishment  of  1824,  plying  down-river  to  the 
Sound  and  New  York. 


Ill 

TOPOGRAPHY  OF  EIVER  AND 
VALLEY 


343 


XXIV 

"  The  Beautiful  River" 

"Winding  down  its  Luxurious  Valley  360  Miles  to  the  Sea — Almost  a  Continuous 
Succession  of  Delightful  Scenery  —  The  River's  Highland  Fountains — The 
four  Upper  Connecticut  Lakes  —  Topography  of  the  Valley  —  The  bound- 
ing Summits — The  River's  Tributaries  —  Historic  Streams  entering  from 
Each  Side — The  Terrace  System  —  Charming  Intervals  with  deep-spreading 
Meadows  —  The  Panorama  in  Detail  from  the  Headwaters  to  Long  Island 
Sound  —  Fossil  Footprints  of  the  Lower  Valley. 

"  f  I IHIS  stream  may  perhaps  with  more  propriety  than 
M  any  other  in  the  world  be  named  the  Beautiful 
River.  From  Stuart  to  the  Sound  it  uniformly  maintains 
this  character.  The  purity,  salubrity,  and  sweetness  of 
its  waters ;  the  frequency  and  elegance  of  its  meanders ; 
its  absolute  freedom  from  all  aquatic  vegetables ;  the  un- 
common and  universal  beauty  of  its  banks,  here  a  smooth 
and  winding  beach,  there  covered  with  rich  verdure,  now 
fringed  with  bushes,  now  covered  with  lofty  trees,  and  now 
formed  by  the  intruding  hill,  the  rude  bluff,  and  the 
shaggy  mountain,  —  are  objects  which  no  traveller  can 
thoroughly  describe,  and  no  reader  can  adequately  imag- 
ine." "  Beauty  of  landscape  is  an  eminent  characteristic  " 
of  the  great  Valley  through  which  the  River  flows.  "  I 
am  persuaded  that  no  other  tract  within  the  United  States 
of  the  same  extent  can  be  compared  to  it  with  respect  to 
those  objects  which  arrest  the  eye  of  the  painter  and  the 
poet.  There  are  indeed  dull,  uninteresting  spots  in  consid- 
erable numbers.  These,  however,  are  little  more  than  the 
discords  which  are  generally  regarded  as  necessary  to  per- 
fect the  harmony.     The  beauty  and  grandeur  are  here  more 

345 


346  Connecticut  River 

varied  than  elsewhere.  They  return  oftener;  they  are 
longer  continued." 

So  wrote  Timothy  Dwight  in  his  Travels  in  Neio 
England,''  of  the  Connecticut  River,  the  greatest  of  New 
England  streams,  a  century  ago.  His  picture  with  mod- 
em touches  delineates  "  The  Beautiful  River  "  to-day. 

Springing  from  a  mountain  pool  and  highland  rivulets 
on  the  ridge  of  the  great  Appalachian  chain  which  sepa- 
rates the  waters  of  New  England  and  Canada,  the  Connec- 
ticut winds  and  curves  and  bows  its  gracious  way,  with 
here  a  dashing  fall  and  there  a  sweep  of  rapids,  down  its 
long,  luxurious  Valley,  through  four  states,  three  hundred 
and  sixty  miles  to  the  sea.  River  and  Valley  in  their  great 
sweep  from  the  headwaters  to  Long  Island  Sound,  though 
changed  in  aspect  through  the  building  up  of  towns  and 
cities  along  the  way,  and  the  intrusion  of  other  practical 
but  not  always  aesthetic  works  of  man,  constitute  ''  almost 
a  continuous  succession  of  delightful  scenery  "  now  as  in 
President  Dwight's  time.  The  predominating  beauty  of 
the  River  is  sweet  and  winsome,  rather  than  proud  and 
majestic.  It  has  its  grand  moods,  but  these  are  brilliant 
flashes  which  serve  to  enhance  the  exquisiteness  of  its 
gentler  mien.  The  Valley's  charm  is  found  in  the  fre- 
quency and  magnitude  of  the  fertile  meadows  or  intervals, 
—  intervales  of  common  speech,  —  off-spreading  from  the 
River's  sides ;  the  procession  of  splendid  terraces  rising  be- 
tween intervening  glens ;  and  the  continuous  mountain 
frame,  comprised  in  the  irregular  outline  of  trap  and  sand- 
stone ranges  on  either  side,  interrupted  only  by  the  entrance 
of  tributary  streams. 

Prom  its  mountain  fastnesses  the  River  "loiters  down 
like  a  great  lord,"  as  Dr.  Holmes  has  imaged,  "  swallowing 
up  the  small  proprietary  rivulets  very  quietly  as  it  goes. 


>      ^ 

"(5  5 


u 


o  ID 


*  *  The  Beautiful  River ' '  347 

until  it  gets  proud  and  swollen,  and  wantons  in  huge  lux- 
urious oxbows  .  .  .  and  at  last  overflows  the  oldest  inhabi- 
tants, running  in  profligate  freshets  ...  all  along  the 
lower  shores."  In  its  downward  course  it  flows  between 
New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  to  their  southern  bounds; 
crosses  the  length  of  Massachusetts  between  the  "  heart  of 
the  Commonwealth"  and  the  beautiful  Berkshire  region; 
and  passes  on  the  eastern  side  of  Connecticut  state  to  the 
finish. 

The  Valley ^s  bounding  summits  on  the  east  are  the 
mountain  area  of  the  Appalachian  system  which  extends 
through  New  Hampshire,  embracing  the  White  Mountain 
range,  and  passes  in  the  spurs  and  ridges  of  that  range 
through  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  toward  Long 
Island  Sound;  and  on  the  west,  the  extension  of  the 
Appalachian  system  through  Vermont  in  the  Green  Moun- 
tains—  their  eastern  chain  continuing  in  the  Berkshire 
Hills  and  the  lesser  highlands  of  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut. Between  these  primary  ranges  on  either  side  the 
Valley  expands  and  contracts,  varying  greatly  in  breadth 
in  its  sweep  from  north  to  south  from  less  than  twenty 
miles  to  upward  of  fifty. 

In  its  passage  between  the  upper  states  the  River  drains 
about  three-tenths  of  the  area  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
four-tenths  of  Vermont,  or  a  total  of  sixty-eight  hundred 
square  miles  in  both  states.  Twenty  or  more  tributaries 
come  to  it  from  the  bounding  summits  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  a  dozen  from  the  Vermont  side.  On  the  outer  sides 
of  these  summits  rise  other  rivers  of  historic  interest  from 
their  use  in  connection  with  the  Connecticut  as  waterways 
and  trails  between  Canada  and  New  England  during  the 
French  and  Indian  wars.  At  the  north,  on  the  Canadian 
side  of  the  highland  where  our  River  rises,  is  the  source  of 


348  Connecticut  River 

the  St.  Francis  River,  which  crosses  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 
On  the  northwest,  in  upper  Vermont,  the  Clyde  rises  in 
the  Green  Mountains  and  meets  the  St.  Francis  through 
Lake  Memphremagog.  Two  miles  from  the  Clyde  is  the 
head  of  the  Nulhegan,  which  flows  to  the  Connecticut. 
Joined  by  a  carrjring  place  these  two  streams  formed  the 
connecting  link  of  an  early  canoe-way  for  predatory  incur- 
sions from  Canada  through  this  River  upon  the  New 
England  frontier  then  far  below.  South  of  Lake  Mem- 
phremagog rises  the  Barton  River,  which,  with  a  carry  to 
the  Passumpsic,  that  empties  into  the  Connecticut  thirty 
miles  below,  constituted  a  link  in  another  trail  by  way  of 
that  lake.  Farther  down  on  the  west  slopes  of  the  Green 
Mountains  heads  the  romantic  Winooski,  —  so  named  by 
the  Indians  from  the  growth  of  wild  onions  on  its  banks, 
—  more  commonly  the  Indian  River  in  colony  times,  which 
formed  a  trail  between  Lake  Champlain  and  our  River, 
through  the  White  River,  most  frequented  in  the  French 
and  Indian  wars.  Farther  south  rises  Otter  Creek,  also 
flowing  to  Lake  Champlain,  the  longest  stream  in  Vermont, 
which  constituted  the  early  "  Indian  Road "  connecting 
with  the  Connecticut  by  way  of  Black  River  at  the  present 
town  of  Springfield,  Vermont,  or  by  the  West  River,  lower 
down,  at  Brattleborough. 

The  fountain-head  of  "  The  Beautiful  River  "  is  hidden 
in  the  primeval  forest,  in  a  remote  and  solitary  region,  at 
the  extreme  northern  point  of  New  Hampshire,  near  the 
top  of  the  mountain  ridge  that  marks  the  Canadian  line. 
It  is  a  mountain  pond,  or  miniature  lake,  of  only  a  few 
square  acres,  lying  less  than  eighty  feet  below  the  summit 
of  the  elevation  known  as  Mount  Prospect,  and  twenty-five 
hundred  and  fifty-one  feet  above  the  sea.     Surrounded  by 


* '  The  Beautiful  River  ' '  349 

dense  growths  of  evergreen,  the  region  is  rarely  penetrated. 
"  Almost  the  only  sound  that  relieves  the  monotony  of  the 
place/*  says  Joshua  H.  Huntington  in  the  Geology  of  Nev: 
Hampshire,  "  is  the  croaking  of  the  frogs ;  and  this  must 
be  their  paradise."  This  pool  is  the  uppermost  of  four 
basins  which  constitute  the  River's  headwaters,  and  bears 
the  prosaic  name  of  Fourth  Lake.  Its  outlet  is  a  silvery 
rill,  tumbling  along  the  mountain-side,  and  flowing  down 
to  a  second  lake  half  a  mile  directly  south  of  the  Canadian 
bound.  This  lake  lies  at  a  height  of  twenty  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  feet.  In  prosaic  fashion  also  it  is  denominated 
Third  Lake  —  or  sometimes  Sophy  Lake.  It  is  a  lake  in 
fact,  with  an  area  of  three-quarters  of  a  square  mile,  set 
in  the  heart  of  the  mountain  forest.  On  all  sides  except 
the  south,  where  is  its  greatest  width,  the  hills  rise  almost 
from  its  shore.  Beside  the  growth  of  spruce,  firs,  and 
cedar  of  immense  size  about  it,  Professor  Huntington 
remarks  its  subalpine  vegetation.  From  its  outlet,  at  the 
southeast  corner,  the  highland  stream,  now  of  somewhat 
larger  growth,  flows  southward  to  the  next  basin.  Second 
Lake,  six  and  a  half  miles  below.  On  its  way,  five  miles 
or  so  from  Third  Lake,  the  growing  stream  receives  a  tribu- 
tary from  the  east,  also  rising  near  the  Canadian  boundary, 
nearly  as  large  as  itself.  Second  Lake,  a  romantic  piece 
of  water,  two  and  three-quarters  miles  in  length,  and  at 
its  widest  a  little  more  than  a  mile,  with  shores  of  graceful 
contour,  deserves  a  happier  name.  Its  height  above  the 
sea  is  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-two  feet.  Near  its 
northern  border  it  receives,  besides  our  highland  stream,  two 
tributaries,  coming  one  from  the  northeast,  the  other  from 
the  northwest.  Its  forest-framed  outlet  is  on  the  southwest 
side.  Thence  our  stream  proceeds  southwesterly  four  miles 
to  the  fourth  basin.  First  or  Connecticut  Lake,  increasing 


350  Connecticut  River 

in  beauty  as  it  goes.  Twenty  rods  down  from  Second 
Lake  the  yoimg  River  drops  in  a  little  fall  of  eighteen 
feet.  Then  it  descends  gradually  for  a  while  with  here 
and  there  deep  eddies.  Then  it  grows  more  rapid,  and 
then  for  half  a  mile  it  dashes  between  precipitous  rocky 
walls  in  a  series  of  wild  cascades.  Then  it  moves  on  with 
gentler  flow.  Then  again  with  swifter  current,  and  with 
added  volume  from  two  tributary  brooks  coming  down 
from  north  and  west,  it  enters  the  basin. 

Connecticut  Lake,  chief  of  the  River's  headwaters,  lies 
sixteen  hundred  and  eighteen  feet  above  sea-level.  Pic- 
turesquely irregular  in  outline,  its  shores  in  large  part  with 
forest  fringes  broken  by  green  intervals,  it  is  a  handsome 
lake  of  fine  proportions,  as  becomes  a  progenitor  of  so 
fair  a  stream.  It  extends  foiu-  miles  in  length,  has  a 
breadth  at  its  widest  of  two  and  three-quarters  miles,  and 
contains  nearly  three  square  miles.  The  neighboring  hills 
are  thick  with  deciduous  trees,  particularly  the  maple 
mingled  with  the  spruce  and  fir.  In  the  autumn,  while 
the  trees  are  aglow  with  their  rich  tints,  the  heights  are 
often  white  from  the  frozen  mist  that  clings  to  the  spears 
of  the  evergreen  foliage  ;  and  so  a  rare  picture  is  presented, 
embracing,  as  Professor  Huntington  limns  it,  the  blue 
waters  of  the  lake,  the  belt  of  deciduous  forests  with  their 
gorgeous  colors,  the  dark  bands  of  the  evergreens,  and  the 
snow-white  summits.  From  the  shape  of  Connecticut  Lake 
Timothy  D wight  called  it  "  Heart  Lake."  But  his  name 
did  not  hold.  More  poetical  and  yet  more  fitting  were  it 
called  "  Metallak,"  so  perpetuating  the  name  of  the  last  of 
the  Abenaquis,  "  the  final  hunter  of  the  Coo-ash-ankes  over 
the  territory  of  his  fathers,"  in  which  it  lies. 

Now  full  formed  the  River  emerges  from  the  rocky 
outlet  of  this  limpid  basin,  falling  abruptly  about  thirty- 


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**  The  Beautiful  River  "  351 

seven  feet.  For  the  first  two  and  a  half  miles  of  its  course 
it  is  almost  a  continual  rapid,  averaging  perhaps  ten  rods 
in  breadth.  Then  it  drops  into  a  more  tranquil  mood  and 
glides  gently  along  for  some  four  miles,  winding  west  and 
southwest.  Then,  and  with  a  sweeping  bend  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  township  of  Stewartstown  (the  Stuart  of  Timo- 
thy Dwight's  writing),  receiving  along  the  way  two  fair- 
sized  tributaries  and  lesser  streams,  it  flows  again  more 
rapidly  to  the  meeting  of  the  bounds  of  New  Hampshire, 
Vermont,  and  Canada.  Here,  joined  by  another  tributary. 
Hall's  Stream,  which  comes  down  from  the  north  and 
makes  the  west  bound  of  New  Hampshire  and  Canada,  it 
swings  into  its  long  serpentine  course,  separating  New 
Hampshire  and  Vermont,  southward,  through  romantic 
country. 

From  Connecticut  Lake  to  the  meeting  of  the  bounds, 
or,  more  exactly,  to  the  mouth  of  Hall's  Stream,  at  Canaan, 
Vermont,  a  distance  of  about  eighteen  miles,  its  descent 
is  set  down  as  five  hundred  and  eighty-three  feet.  Accord- 
ingly at  this  point  its  height  above  the  sea  is  ten  hundred 
and  thirty-five  feet.  Thence  the  drop  becomes  very  gradual 
for  fifty  miles,  to  the  point  where  the  upper  section  of  the 
Upper  Valley  ends —  at  the  head  of  the  Fifteen  Miles  Falls, 
in  Dalton,  New  Hampshire  side,  —  the  descent  being  only 
two  hundred  and  five  feet  in  all. 

Following  the  River's  downward  course  from  source  to 
mouth  the  terrace  system  distinguishing  its  banks  is  of 
first  interest.  These  formations  of  modified  drift,  shaped 
during  the  formative  geological  period  by  action  or  con- 
traction of  the  River  and  incoming  tributaries,  occur  in 
spaces  or  "  basins  "  separated  by  ridges,  through  which 
the  River  has  cut  or  deepened  gorges,  or  connected  by  the 


352  Connecticut  River 

highest  terraces.  The  terraces  rise  from  the  River  in  suc- 
cessive magnificent  steps,  three,  four,  five,  and  sometimes 
more  in  number :  the  lower  consisting  of  the  rich  alluvial 
meadows  or  intervals  ;  the  highest  being,  as  the  geologists 
define,  renmants  of  ancient  flood-plains  annually  overflowed 
by  the  glacial  river  at  the  end  of  the  Champlain  period,  as 
are  the  alluvial  meadows  now,  and  varying  in  height  to 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  River's  present  surface. 

Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock,  the  third  president  of  Amherst 
College,  and  first  of  all  geologists  to  explore  the  River 
scientifically,  enumerated  twenty-two  of  these  terrace- 
basins  from  the  headwaters  to  the  Sound. 

We  cannot  do  better  than  follow  his  lines  in  a  rapid 
survey  through  their  course  of  the  features  of  the  River 
and  the  Valley. 

Five  "basins"  are  defined  in  the  upper  section  of  the 
Upper  Valley.  Along  this  entire  reach,  below  West  Stew- 
artstown  and  Canaan,  the  fertile  intervals  extend  on  both 
sides,  varying  from  a  half-mile  to  a  mile  or  more  in  width. 
The  terraces  in  the  first  basin  are  most  developed  at  the 
end,  in  West  Stewartstown,  and  opposite  in  Canaan.  In 
the  narrower  second  basin,  extending  only  about  five 
miles  (to  Leamington,  Vermont  side,  and  Colebrook,  New 
Hampshire  side)  some  terraces  appear  of  unusual  height. 
At  Leamington,  Vermont's  Monadnock,  extending  to  the 
River,  uplifts  its  green  crown.  In  the  third  basin,  also 
short  (from  Colebrook  to  Columbia,  or  Bloomfield,  Ver- 
mont side),  two  tributaries,  the  Mohawk  River  and  Sims's 
Stream,  enter  the  River  from  New  Hampshire.  The  fourth 
basin  (from  Bloomfield  to  Guildhall,  Vermont,  and  North- 
umberland, New  Hampshire),  with  a  length  of  eighteen 
miles,  exhibits  a  beautiful  succession  of  terraces,  particu- 
larly fine  at  Guildhall.     Near  the  northern  bound  of  this 


"  The  Beautiful  River  "  353 

basin,  the  Nulhegan  River,  part  of  the  uppermost  Indian 
route  to  Canada,  comes  in  from  Vermont  at  a  point  below 
the  town  of  Brunswick  ;  and  at  the  south  end  of  the  basin, 
the  Upper  Ammonoosuc,  from  the  New  Hampshire  side, 
at  Northumberland.  The  fifth  basin,  another  short  one 
(Guildhall  to  Lunenburg,  Vermont,  and  Lancaster,  New 
Hampshire),  advances  into  the  old  Coos  country,  so  called 
by  the  Indians  from  the  crookedness  of  the  River  passing 
through  :  the  "  Garden  of  New  England,"  as  characterized 
by  Major  Robert  Rogers,  with  a  soldier's  eye  for  beauty, 
when  he  penetrated  the  then  primitive  region  with  his 
Rangers  in  the  French  and  Indian  war  times.  Lunenburg 
and  Lancaster  on  their  terraced  banks  are  approached 
through  broad  meadows,  the  channel  at  length  widening 
and  gliding  with  a  placid  surface.  In  its  meanderings  by 
Lancaster  the  River's  drop  is  said  to  be  less  than  two  feet 
in  a  flow  of  some  ten  miles.  As  illustrative  of  its  twist- 
ings  in  this  lovely  reach,  the  local  historian  tells  how  in 
hunting  days  a  sportsman  might,  at  one  point,  "  stand  in 
New  Hampshire,  fire  across  Vermont,  and  lodge  his  ball  in 
New  Hampshire  again."  On  the  Lancaster  line,  Israel's 
River,  rising  in  cataracts  in  the  White  Mountains,  empties 
into  the  stream ;  and  at  Dalton,  just  below  Lancaster,  is 
Israel's  companion,  John's  River,  having  started  from  the 
mountain  town  of  Jefferson,  through  which  Israel's  also 
flows :  both  named  for  old-time  hunters,  Israel  and  John 
Glines,  brothers,  each  of  whom  had  a  hunting-camp  on 
them. 

South  of  Lancaster  the  base  of  the  White  Mountains 
pushes  the  channel  twenty  miles  westward.  The  Gardner 
Mountains  range,  crossing  the  Valley,  and  occupying  the 
angle  of  the  bend  at  Dalton,  makes  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls, 
over  twenty  miles  in  length.     These  rapids,  beginning  at 


354  Connecticut  River 

Dalton  in  a  great  eddy,  continue  through  the  long  romantic 
passage  excavated  by  the  River,  to  Monroe,  New  Hamp- 
shire side,  and  Barnet,  Vermont,  finishing  at  Barnet  in  a 
pitch  of  a  few  feet,  known  as  Mclndoe's  Falls,  from  a 
Scotch  lumberman  established  here  among  the  earliest 
settlers  in  the  region.  From  the  head  of  the  rapids,  or 
from  the  mouth  of  John's  River,  the  descent  is  rapid,  three 
himdred  and  seventy  feet  in  twenty  miles.  The  altitude 
of  the  foot  of  Mclndoe's  Falls  above  the  sea  is  four  hund- 
red and  thirty-two  feet. 

The  Fifteen-Miles  Falls,  heading  the  lower  section  of 
the  Upper  Valley  in  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  occupy 
the  sixth  and  seventh  of  Dr.  Hitchcock's  basins.  From 
their  foot  this  section  of  the  Valley  is  comparatively  level, 
and  again  with  a  southerly  course.  About  a  mile  below 
Mclndoe's  Falls  the  Passumpsic  River  empties  into  the 
stream  from  its  picturesque  run  down  the  Vermont  hills. 
From  the  mouth  of  the  Passumpsic  to  the  Massachusetts 
line,  a  direct  distance  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  miles, 
our  River's  flow  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  miles, 
with  an  average  descent  of  two  feet  to  the  mile.  The 
Fifteen-Miles  Falls  separate  the  old  Coos  country  into  the 
Upper  and  Lower  Coos. 

Below  Mclndoe's  Falls  the  hills  recede  and  the  broad 
alluvial  meadows  again  intervene  and  form  the  particular 
features  of  the  eighth  basin,  which  extends  from  Mclndoe's 
Falls  to  South  Ryegate,  Vermont  side.  In  the  succeeding 
five  basins  (Ryegate  to  Norwich,  Vermont,  and  Hanover, 
New  Hampshire)  a  succession  of  intervals,  rising  terraces, 
and  mountain  views  delight  the  eye.  These  basins  com- 
prise a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles.  The  terraces  are 
especially  marked  in  the  upper  part,  at  Newbury  and 
Bradford,  Vermont,  and  Haverhill,  New  Hampshire;  and 


**  The  Beautiful  River  "  355 

at  the  lower  end  in  Hanover,  providing  Dartmouth  College 
with  a  beautiful  seat.  The  most  extensive  intervals  are 
between  Newbury,  Vermont,  and  Haverhill,  New  Hamp- 
shire side,  and  between  Bradford,  Vermont,  and  Piermont, 
New  Hampshire,  —  the  region  of  the  Lower  Coos.  Within 
this  reach  they  are  at  greater  breadth  than  at  any  other 
point  in  the  Valley.  At  Newbury  Wells  River  enters  the 
stream ;  at  Bradford,  Wait's  River ;  and  just  above  Haver- 
hill (from  Bath),  the  Lower  Ammonoosuc :  all  important 
tributaries.  Between  the  mouths  of  Wells  and  Wait's 
Rivers  the  intervals  spread  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  in 
width,  the  River  twisting  through  them  in  Haverhill  and 
Newbury  in  little  and  great  oxbows.  East  of  Haverhill, 
Moosilauk,  the  southwest  extension  of  the  White  Mountains, 
towers  four  thousand  seven  himdred  and  ninety  feet  above 
the  River.  The  hills  back  of  Haverhill  rising  in  procession 
to  this  rugged  peak  appear  in  full  view  from  the  opposite 
banks  of  Newbury.  Midway  between  Haverhill  and  Han- 
over, Mount  Cuba,  in  Orford,  trending  toward  the  River, 
with  an  altitude  of  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  feet  above  the  sea,  enriches  the  landscape. 

Features  more  varied  characterize  the  fourteenth  basin, 
which  extends  from  Norwich  to  Mount  Ascutney,  in  Weth- 
ersfield,  Vermont,  the  highest  elevation  lying  wholly  in 
the  Valley.  Between  Hanover  and  the  railroad  centre  of 
White  River  Junction  are  the  Upper  White-River  Falls,  at 
"Wilder's,"  splendid  as  a  spectacle  and  practical  as  the 
motive-power  for  great  paper-mills,  transforming  wood 
pulp  into  newspaper  stock.  At  White  River  Junction  the 
White  River,  the  largest  stream  in  Vermont  on  the  east 
side  of  the  mountains,  produces  as  it  enters  some  inter- 
esting terraces.  At  Lebanon,  on  the  New  Hampshire 
side,  the  Mascomy  River  comes  in ;  and  below,  from  the 


356  Connecticut  River 

Vermont  side,  the  Quechee,  or  Otto  Quechee,  at  North 
Hartland :  both  contributing  to  the  Quechee  or  Sumner 
Falls,  two  miles  down  from  its  mouth.  Terraces  beautify 
the  banks  of  Lebanon  and  North  Hartland,  and  of  Cornish 
and  Windsor  on  either  side  below.  The  triple-crowned 
Ascutney  finishing  this  basin,  sweeps  close  to  the  River,  a 
graceful  cone,  independent  of  any  range,  and  rising  three 
thousand  one  hundi*ed  and  sixty-eight  feet  above  the  sea. 
From  near  its  top  down  quite  to  its  base  three  deep  valleys 
course,  in  size  resembling  one  another,  whence  comes  its 
Indian  name,  which  signifies  "  three  brothers."  The  next 
two  basins,  extending  between  Ascutney  and  Bellows  Falls, 
about  twenty-five  miles,  show^  terraces  in  fullest  form  at 
the  upper  part,  most  notably  in  Wethersfield,  the  little 
village  south  of  Ascutney' s  base.  North  Charlestown,  New 
Hampshire  side,  and  Springfield,  Vermont.  Four  tribu- 
taries enter  in  these  reaches ;  Sugar  River,  at  Claremont, 
and  Little  Sugar,  at  North  Charlestown,  from  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  and  Black  River  at  Springfield  and  Williams  River 
at  Rockingham,  from  Vermont,  —  the  latter  the  historic 
junction  where,  three  miles  above  Bellows  Falls,  the  "■  Deer- 
field  captives  "  of  1703-4  held  their  first  Sunday  service ; 
in  commemoration  of  which  the  river  was  afterward  named 
for  John  Williams,  the  minister. 

At  Bellows  Falls  the  aspect  changes  and  the  loitering 
stream  becomes  a  foaming  torrent  in  a  narrow  strait.  Here 
Kilburn  Peak,  rising  abruptly  twelve  hundred  feet  and 
pressing  close  on  the  east  side,  and  steep  hills  crowding  in 
on  the  west  side,  bound  this  gorge,  through  which  the 
River,  not  more  than  forty  rods  in  width,  hurries  in  whirl- 
ing rapids  with  spirit  and  dash.  Entering  with  a  plunge 
at  the  brink  over  a  ledge  of  gneiss  which  cuts  the  ciurrent 
into  two  channels,  it  rushes  and  leaps  in  zigzags  to  a  grand 


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* '  The  Beautiful  River  ' '  357 

finish  in  a  great  eddy  nearly  fifty  feet  below.  It  is  an 
animated  spectacle  indeed,  but  scarcely  meeting  the  exu- 
berant description  of  Samuel  Peters,  the  romancing  histo- 
rian of  Connecticut,  a  hundred  and  more  years  ago,  who 
told  of  the  tops  of  the  bounding  hills  "  intercepting  the 
clouds,"  and  of  the  water  consolidated  by  pressure  and 
swiftness  "  between  the  pinching  rocks  to  such  a  degree  of 
induration  that  an  iron  bar  cannot  be  forced  into  it "  !  The 
village  of  Bellows  Falls  perched  on  "  the  island "  and 
the  steep  west  banks,  its  terraces  among  the  highest  in  the 
Valley,  adds  to  the  charm  of  the  surrounding  landscape. 
The  blemishes  in  the  picture,  from  an  aesthetic  point  of 
view,  are  the  factories  crowding  on  the  River's  edge  below 
the  gorge.  These,  however,  are  endurable  blemishes,  for 
they  bring  employment,  comfort,  and  wealth  to  this  favored 
town.  The  first  bridge  that  ever  spanned  the  River  was 
built  here.  This  great  feat  was  accomplished  in  1785, 
and  gave  added  distinction  to  the  place. 

In  the  next  basin,  extending  to  Brattleborough,  seven- 
teen miles,  the  River  resumes  its  tranquil  flow.  In  this 
reach  terraces  are  beautifully  developed  along  the  first  five 
miles  of  Westminster,  adjoining  Bellows  Falls.  From  the 
Westminster  side  Saxton's  River  enters  the  winding  stream; 
and  at  Walpole,  opposite.  Cold  River,  after  flowing  around 
Kilburn  Peak.  The  intervals  here  broadening  on  both 
sides  give  these  rural  towns  a  lovely  river  fringe.  As 
Brattleborough  is  approached  the  Valley  again  narrows  tiU 
it  becomes  almost  a  defile,  and  at  this  elevated  terraced 
town  the  River  passes  through  another  gorge.  This  strait 
is  made  by  the  closing  in  of  the  precipitous  Wantastiquet 
Moimtain,  thirteen  hundred  and  sixty  feet  high,  on  the 
New  Hampshire  side,  and  of  the  west-side  hills  culminat- 
ing in  the  crest  of  the  Green  Mountains.     Toward  either 


358  Connecticut  River 

end  of  the  village,  north  and  south,  two  tributaries  join 
the  River  but  a  mile  apart,  thus  producing  some  remark- 
able and  complicated  terraces.  These  tributaries  are  West 
River,  of  considerable  size,  and  Whetstone  Brook,  a  brawl- 
ing stream,  both  in  picturesque  setting.  Attractive  ter- 
races also  appear  north  of  Wantastiquet,  on  the  New 
Hampshire  side,  in  Chesterfield  opposite  Brattleborough 
and  Dummerston.  Far  across  the  Valley,  twenty  miles 
off  on  the  eastern  bound,  grand  Monadnock,  in  the  charm- 
ing hill  town  of  Dublin,  is  discerned  rising  in  majestic 
isolation  to  its  altitude  of  more  than  three  thousand  feet. 

The  eighteenth  basin,  beginning  at  Brattleborough, 
extends  past  the  remainder  of  New  Hampshire  and  Ver- 
mont and  penetrates  Massachusetts  for  twenty  miles  or  so. 
Terraces  reappear  numerously  in  the  northern  part  of 
Vernon,  the  lowest  Vermont  town ;  and  along  Hinsdale, 
the  New  Hampshire  town  opposite  Vernon.  At  Hinsdale 
the  Ashuelot,  the  last  New  Hampshire  tributary,  enters 
the  River  with  a  royal  sweep,  having  cut  its  narrow  chan- 
nel through  mountain  ranges.  To  the  mouth  of  the  Ash- 
uelot, within  four  miles  of  the  Massachusetts  line,  our 
River  has  coursed  from  its  source  two  hundred  and  eight 
miles,  with  a  descent  from  Connecticut  Lake  of  fourteen 
hundred  and  twelve  feet.  At  this  point  the  River  lies  two 
hundred  and  six  feet  above  the  ocean  level.  Its  whole 
length  in  New  Hampshire,  following  its  principal  bends, 
is  in  round  figures  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles,  the 
distance  in  the  direct  course  being  two  hundred  and  one 
miles. 

At  the  Massachusetts  line  the  primary  mountains  crowd 
down,  again  narrowing  the  Valley.  Across  this  state  the 
Valley's  stretch  from  north  to  south  is  nearly  fifty  miles, 
with  a  varying  but  averaging  width  of  about  twenty  miles. 


a 
Q 


M 


* '  The  Beautiful  River ' '  359 

It  broadens  toward  the  south  and  narrows  at  the  southern 
end  as  at  the  north,  between  close-pressing  hills. 

The  River  enters  Massachusetts  meandering  in  long 
graceful  curves  through  the  border  town  of  Northfield,  the 
east-side  village  rising  from  the  meadows  in  broad  terraces, 
a  picture  of  quiet  beauty  as  seen  in  the  summer  sunshine 
from  the  car  windows  of  a  railroad  train  on  the  opposite 
bank.  The  eighteenth  basin  continues  a  few  miles  farther 
down,  ending  at  the  mouth  of  Miller's  River,  the  first 
Massachusetts  tributary,  which  flows  into  the  stream  in 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  west-side  town  of  Gill.  West- 
ward of  this  basin,  rising  in  high  ridges  between  Gill  and 
the  adjoining  town  of  Greenfield,  a  range  of  greenstone 
appears,  which,  trending  southward,  enters  the  Valley  and 
extends  along  its  central  parts  through  Massachusetts, 
twice  crossing  the  River;  and  thence  continuing  in  the 
chain  that,  lower  down,  cuts  across  the  State  of  Connecti- 
cut and  terminates  in  West  Rock,  at  New  Haven.  This 
interior  mountain  range,  with  the  River's  magnificent 
curves  and  superb  ox-bows  and  frequent  meanders  between 
deep  meadows  and  terraced  banks,  diversifies  the  scenery 
and  gives  to  much  of  the  Valley  in  Massachusetts  a  charm 
of  its  own  distinct  from  the  beauties  of  other  parts. 

Through  this  region,  extending  from  Northfield  across 
the  two  states  to  New  Haven,  where  the  River  had  its 
earlier  outlet  in  the  Sound,  lie  the  "  new  red  sandstone  " 
formations  in  which  were  found,  some  sixty  years  ago, 
between  the  strata  of  the  bed,  those  marvellous  fossil  foot- 
prints of  ancient  bipeds,  the  discussion  of  which  by  savants 
of  that  time  gave  a  great  new  zest  to  geological  research 
in  the  Valley.  Ages  back,  they  say,  before  the  globe  was 
fit  for  man,  these  strange  creatures  roamed  the  shores  of 
the  estuary  which  then  was  here,  and  left  their  impress  in 


360  Connecticut  River 

the  mud  clay,  the  rock  in  its  plastic  state,  on  the  slopes 
and  shallow  bottom  when  the  tide  was  out.  So  Dr.  Hitch- 
cock, first  to  examine  scientifically  and  describe  these 
triassic  tracks,  recorded.  Huge  birds  were  they,  as  he 
portrayed,  four  times  as  large  as  the  African  ostrich.  They 
reached  in  height  twelve  feet  and  more,  in  weight  four 
hundred  to  eight  hundred  pounds,  and  had  a  stride  of  from 
thirty  to  sixty  inches.  With  them  were  other  gigantic 
races,  for  the  high  temperature  which  then  prevailed  was 
seemingly  favorable  to  a  giant-like  development  of  every 
form  of  life.  The  footprints,  thousands  of  which  Dr. 
Hitchcock  examined,  were  found  in  the  bottom  of  the 
Valley  in  places  scattered  between  Gill,  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  Middletown,  in  Connecticut,  a  linear  distance  of 
about  eighty  miles.  Dr.  Hitchcock's  theory  was  that  the 
colossal  birds  passed  over  the  surface  in  flocks,  as  indicated 
by  rows  of  tracks  found  in  certain  localities,  among  them 
the  southeast  part  of  Northampton.  Farther  research  dis- 
closed traces  of  quadrupeds,  frogs,  and  salamanders.  From 
all  these  footprints  Dr.  Hitchcock  constructed  this  animated 
spectacle  of  the  menagerie  of  the  primeval  Valley : 

"Now  I  have  seen  in  scientific  vision  an  apterous  bird  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  high  —  veiy  large  flocks  of  them,  —  walking 
over  its  muddy  surface  followed  by  many  others  of  an  analogous 
character,  but  of  smaller  size.  Next  comes  a  biped  animal,  a  bird, 
perhaps,  with  a  foot  and  heel  nearly  two  feet  long.  Then  a  host  of 
lesser  bipeds,  formed  on  the  same  general  type ;  and  among  them 
several  quadrupeds  with  disproportioned  feet,  yet  many  of  them 
stilted  high,  while  others  are  crawling  along  the  surface  with  sprawl- 
ing limbs.  Next  succeeds  the  huge  Polemarch,  leading  along  a  tribe 
of  lesser  followers,  with  heels  of  great  length,  and  armed  with  spurs. 
But  the  greatest  wonder  of  all  comes  in  the  shape  of  a  biped  batra- 
chian  with  feet  twenty  inches  long.  We  have  heard  of  the  Laby- 
rinthodon  of  Europe,  —  a  frog  as  large  as  an  ox,  but  his  feet  were 


o 
o 


^ 


' '  The  Beautiful  River  "  361 

only  six  or  eight  inches  long, —  a  mere  pigmy  compared  with  the 
Otozoum  of  New  England.  Behind  them  there  trips  along,  on 
imequal  feet,  a  group  of  small  lizards  and  Salamandridae,  with  trifid 
or  quadtrifid  feet.  Beyond,  half  seen  amid  the  darkness,  there  move 
along  animals  so  strange  that  they  can  hardly  be  brought  within 
the  types  of  existing  organizations.  Strange  indeed  is  the  menagerie 
of  remote  sandstone  days ;  and  the  privilege  of  gazing  upon  it,  and 
of  bringing  into  view  one  lost  form  after  another,  has  been  an  ample 
recompense  for  my  efforts  though  they  should  be  rewarded  by  no 
other  fruit." 

"  No  doubt,"  afterward  remarked  the  later  New  England 
geologist,  Professor  Charles  W.  Hitchcock,  Dr.  Hitchcock's 
son,  in  his  Geology  of  New  Hmnpshire,  the  wonderful  birds 
who  left  these  marks  "  built  their  nests  among  the  jungles 
of  New  Hampshire,  from  whence  they  emerged  in  search  of 
food." 

The  nineteenth  basin  extends  from  the  Miller's  River 
junction  in  Gill  to  the  conical  peak  of  Mount  Toby,  or 
Mattawampe,  in  Sunderland,  east  side,  in  which  the  inte- 
rior range  reappears  at  its  first  crossing  of  the  River.  At 
the  beginning  of  this  reach  of  only  eight  or  ten  miles  the 
River's  course  is  sharply  turned  to  the  northwest.  Thus 
it  runs  for  about  a  mile  between  picturesque  banks.  Then 
bending  westerly  it  flows  in  that  direction  for  two  miles, 
through  a  "horse  race  "  and  "  the  narrows,"  Gill  lying  on 
the  north  and  the  town  of  Montague  on  the  south.  In 
the  narrows  it  turns  again  abruptly  northward.  After  a 
mile  or  so  in  rapids  it  plunges  over  a  rocky  precipice  at 
Turner's  Falls.  Then  making  a  great  semi-circle,  or  bow, 
of  three  miles  in  extent,  it  resumes  its  southward  way,  and 
so  approaches  the  basin's  end.  Along  this  roving  course 
numerous  terraces  appear  on  either  side,  some  of  consider- 
able extent.  Greenfield  on  its  hills  lies  on  the  north  and 
west  of  the  great  bow.     At  the  upper  bend  Falls  River, 


362  Connecticut  River 

coursing  down  the  side  of  Greenfield  from  the  north,  enters 
the  stream.  Next  south  of  Greenfield  beautiful  Deerfield 
lies,  back  of  a  deep  strip  of  meadow  extending  the  town's 
full  length,  while  the  symmetrical  stretch  of  Deerfield 
Mountains  continues  the  interior  range  from  the  Gill  and 
Greenfield  ridges.  At  the  town's  north  end  Deerfield  River 
empties  into  our  stream,  having  come  down  from  the  Green 
Mountains  and  the  Berkshire  Hills  through  its  own  rich 
valley,  bringing  along  with  it  Green  River  from  Greenfield, 
which  it  receives  near  its  mouth.  At  the  south  end,  or  in 
South  Deerfield,  the  bluff  Sugarloaf  peaks,  in  which  the 
Deerfield  chain  culminates,  stand  out  boldly,  with  Mount 
Toby  looming  high  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  River. 

In  the  twentieth  basin  the  Valley  widens,  and  here  the 
striking  characteristics  of  the  terraces  are  their  width. 
Along  the  plains  and  over  the  rising  banks  spread  on  either 
side  the  historic  towns  of  Hadley  and  Hatfield ;  Amherst 
back  of  Hadley,  and  Northampton,  the  "  Meadow  City," 
fan-  seats  of  colleges.  Opposite  Northampton,  in  South 
Hadley,  the  River  circling  through  the  splendid  gorge  be- 
tween. Mount  Holyoke  lifts  its  graceful  front.  Here  the 
interior  range  makes  its  second  crossing,  and  attains  its 
highest  elevation  in  Mount  Tom,  on  the  Northampton  side, 
eleven  hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  the  sea.  Thence 
the  slopes  of  this  range,  called  in  this  part  the  Holyoke 
range,  trend  southward  with  the  River's  course  to  the 
lower  Massachusetts  line.  At  Northampton,  Mill  River,  a 
pretty  featiu-e  of  the  rural  city,  joins  the  stream. 

The  twenty-first  is  the  longest  of  all  the  basins,  its  ex- 
tent being  fifty-three  miles  through  the  remainder  of 
Massachusetts  and  across  Connecticut  state  to  Middletown, 
with  a  varying  width  of  from  three  to  ten  miles.  In  the 
Massachusetts  part  the  River  has  an  average   width    of 


"a; 


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* '  The  Beautiful  River  ' '  363 

twelve  hundred  feet,  and  expands  to  the  greatest  breadth 
before  the  Connecticut  state  line  is  met.  All  along  this 
reach  the  terrace  system  is  finely  developed,  although  the 
terraces  do  not  average  high.  The  highest  reach  is  the 
gorge  terrace  south  of  Mount  Holyoke,  two  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  feet  above  the  sea.  Below  Mount  Holyoke 
South  Hadley  Falls  break  the  River's  course.  On  the  west 
side  lies  the  busy  mill  city  of  Holyoke,  with  its  remark- 
able hydraulic  works.  On  the  east  side  again,  below  South 
Hadley,  Chicopee,  also  a  city  of  mills,  occupies  the  River's 
banks.  Just  above  the  city  the  Chicopee  River  with  its 
branches,  —  bringing  the  waters  of  Swift,  Ware  and  Qua- 
boag  rivers  from  the  eastward,  —  contributes  to  our  stream 
by  several  mouths.  Next  below,  the  city  of  Springfield 
rises  on  a  succession  of  terraces.  Here  another  Mill  River 
enters  the  stream,  on  its  downward  course  furnishing 
water-power  for  the  United  States  arsenal,  and  passing 
through  lower  portions  of  the  city.  On  the  opposite  bank 
is  West  Springfield,  with  the  Agawam  or  Westfield  River, 
flowing  down  from  the  Berkshires,  emptying  into  our  river 
by  two  mouths.  Next  appear  the  rural  towns  of  Agawam 
on  the  west,  and  Longmeadow  on  the  east,  both  extending 
to  the  Connecticut  State  line.  From  either  side  several 
picturesque  brooks  drop  into  the  River  along  the  way. 
The  most  important  of  these,  Pecowsic  and  Longmeadow 
Brooks,  enter  respectively  at  the  north  and  the  south  parts 
of  Longmeadow  township. 

At  Springfield  the  River  has  descended  to  a  point  only 
forty  feet  above  the  sea-level.  Here  and  from  Holyoke 
above  it  has  become  of  sufficient  depth  to  float  vessels  of 
considerable  size.  At  Longmeadow  it  has  its  greatest 
width,  for  a  mile  or  more  expanding  to  twenty-one  hund- 
red feet  from  bank  to  bank. 


364  Connecticut  River 

Crossing  the  Connecticut  State  line  the  Enfield  Dam  is 
soon  reached.  Thence  the  course  is  through  the  Enfield 
Rapids  for  five  and  a  quarter  miles,  over  a  rocky  bed,  in 
parts  between  bluff  banks,  to  Windsor  Locks.  Part  way 
down  King's  Island,  its  west  side  a  rock  bluff,  divides  the 
channel.  Opposite  Windsor  Locks,  on  the  east  side,  is 
Warehouse  Point,  the  landmark  of  earliest  colonial  times, 
which  happily  has  retained  its  old  name.  Below  Windsor 
Locks  lies  "  ancient  Windsor,"  now  in  three  towns  on 
either  side  of  the  River.  At  East  Windsor  the  Scantic 
River  joins  our  stream ;  at  South  Windsor,  Stoughton's 
Brook  and  Podunk  River;  and  at  Old  Windsor,  the 
Tunxis,  or  Farmington  River,  the  latter,  the  principal 
tributary  in  this  state,  having  its  rise  on  the  east  slope  of 
the  Green  Mountains,  and  approaching  its  mouth  through 
the  Talcott  range,  part  of  the  Valley's  west  bounding  sum- 
mits in  this  region.  Over  the  plains  and  hills  next  below 
old  Windsor  spreads  the  "  Charter  City  "  of  Hartford,  with 
the  tall  yellow  dome  of  the  State  Capitol  high  above  the 
mass  of  roofs,  glistening  in  the  sun.  Here  Park  River, 
the  "  Little  River  "  of  earlier  days,  contributes  to  the  stream. 
Opposite,  on  the  east  side,  lies  East  Hartford,  connected 
by  a  bridge  with  the  parent  city. 

In  the  reach,  ten  miles  in  length,  from  the  foot  of  En- 
field Rapids  to  Hartford,  the  River  has  run  with  slight 
curvatures  directly  south,  averaging  fifteen  hundred  feet 
in  width,  through  intervals  from  a  third  of  a  mile  to  a 
mile  wide,  which  are  overflowed  in  seasons  of  freshets. 
Below  Hartford  the  course  becomes  more  irregular.  Here 
the  changes  in  the  River's  bed,  constantly  going  on  through 
the  wearing  of  the  alluvial  banks  on  the  bends,  are  especially 
marked.  Along  by  old  Wethersfield  the  River  is  said  now 
to  flow  diagonally  across  the  bed  it  had  two  centuries  ago, 


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' '  The  Beautiful  River  ' '  365 

through  the  shifting  of  the  clay  and  sand  forming  its  bank« 
from  one  part  of  a  bend  to  another ;  an  island  of  more 
than  a  mile  in  length  that  then  divided  the  channel  having 
completely  disappeared  in  the  process.  In  another  section, 
six  miles  below  Hartford,  the  same  authority  (Charles  L. 
Burdette  in  the  Memorial  History  of  Hartford  County) 
states  that  in  a  quite  recent  period,  within  twelve  years  of 
his  writing  (1885),  the  River  was  moved  its  whole  width 
to  the  eastward.  Between  Old  Wethersfield  and  Glaston- 
bury, on  the  east  side,  great  bends  are  now  made  in  the 
crooked  course.  At  South  Glastonbury  Roaring  Brook 
drops  into  the  stream.  From  the  south  end  of  Wethers- 
field the  course  resumes  the  southward  direction  and  con- 
tinues between  fertile  intervals  close  backed  by  hills, 
alongside  the  towns  of  Rocky  Hill  and  Cromwell  on  the 
west,  and  Portland,  with  its  quarries,  on  the  east.  Then 
another  sharp  turn  is  made,  and  the  stream  swings  with  a 
long  sweep  southwestward  to  Middletown,  receiving  in 
this  generous  bend  another  tributary,  Sabethe  River,  from 
the  west. 

The  last  basin,  from  Middletown  to  the  Sound,  extends, 
by  the  River's  winding  way,  about  thirty-eight  miles.  At 
Middletown  the  River  is  half  a  mile  in  width,  winding  yet 
in  "  delightful  prospects,"  as  Timothy  D wight  found  it. 
Below  Middletown  the  primary  mountains  again  close  in, 
making  a  deep  ravine  through  which,  with  occasional  small 
openings  of  meadows,  the  River  courses,  eastward,  south, 
and  southwestward,  to  its  finish.  From  the  bend  in  which 
Middletown  lies  the  run  is  directly  east  for  about  five  miles. 
In  this  reach  the  River  makes  the  "  Straits,"  a  narrow  pass 
through  high  ranges,  of  about  a  mile  in  length,  in  which 
the  stream  is  contracted  to  a  breadth  in  places  of  but  forty 
rods.     Below,  at  Middle  Haddam,  a  sharp  turn  is  taken 


366  Connecticut  River 

southward.  So  the  course  continues  for  about  three  and 
a  half  miles,  when  another  bend  is  made  eastward,  between 
Haddam  on  one  side  and  East  Haddam  on  the  other.  At 
East  Haddam,  Salmon  River,  the  last  tributary  of  note, 
enters  from  the  hills  in  a  little  cataract.  From  East  Had- 
dam the  course  takes  a  generally  southeastward  direction, 
with  numerous  windings,  to  the  Sound.  Along  the  way, 
in  the  upper  parts  between  hilly  banks  sloping  downward 
to  the  River,  old  towns  of  historic  flavor  are  passed  on 
either  side.  Between  Essex  and  Old  Ljrme  the  channel 
broadens  perceptibly ;  and  again  at  the  mouth  by  Old 
Say  brook. 

The  entrance  to  the  Sound  is  marked  picturesquely  as 
well  as  practically  by  a  dazzling  white  lighthouse  on  Say- 
brook  Point,  and  another  at  the  end  of  a  jetty  from  the 
same  west  side. 


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XXV 

Along  the  Upper  Valley 

The  Romantic  Region  about  the  Connecticut  Lakes — Pioneer  Upper  Settle- 
ments—  Story  of  a  Forest  State  of  the  Eigh teen-Twenties  and  Thirties  — 
At  the  Valley's  Head  —  Upper  Coos  Towns  —  Old  Trail  from  Canada  to 
Maine — The  Country  of  the  Fifteen  Miles  Falls  —  Lower  Coos  Towns  — 
About  the  Great  and  Little  Ox-Bows  —  Dartmouth  College  and  its  Sur- 
roundings—  Between  White  River  Junction  and  Old  "Number  4"  — 
Historic  Towns  of  the  Lower  Reaches  to  the  Massachusetts  Line. 

FIOM  the  "  witness  monument "  on  the  elevated  plateau 
of  the  "  Great  Divide  "  that  marks  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Canada,  all  the  territory  lying 
between  the  New  Hampshire-Maine  line  on  the  east,  marked 
by  Mount  Carmel  (3,700  feet)  lifting  a  shapely  head,  and 
the  New  Hampshire-Canada  line  on  the  west,  made  by  Hall's 
Stream,  and  extending  southerly  to  the  first  great  bend 
of  the  Connecticut,  constitutes  the  township  of  Pittsburg, 
a  generous  area  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  square  miles. 
Sections  of  considerable  size  are  splendid  woodland,  a  par- 
adise of  hunter  and  sportsman,  not  yet  all  spoiled  by  the 
wide-sweeping  operations  of  the  lumbering  concerns  which 
control  large  tracts  of  it.  Streams  and  ponds  abound 
enticing  to  the  fisherman  and  angler.  In  the  settled  parts 
are  roomy  farms,  while  about  the  Connecticut  lakes  are 
favorite  summer  camping  places.  The  lower  lake  is  the 
chief  of  the  popular  resorts  with  the  pleasant  inn  of  Metal- 
lak  Lodge  on  the  north  shore.  The  lovely  intervals  on  the 
River's  sides  begin  with  the  Valley  about  two  miles  below 
the  lower  lake,  and  thence  their  green  breadths  continue 
for  some  five  miles  as  the  stream  flows.     Again  below 

367 


368  Connecticut  River 

Beecher's  Falls  in  Canaan,  on  the  Vermont-Canada  bound, 
and  West  Stewartstown  opposite,  they  sweep  luxuriantly. 
For  the  leisurely  explorer  of  the  country  of  the  River's 
headwaters,  West  Stewartstown  station  is  the  proper  stop- 
ping-place on  the  railroad  which  comes  up  the  River  banks 
along  the  New  Hampshire  side.  Here  the  rural  Pittsburg 
stage  is  in  waiting  to  cover  the  remaining  eighteen  miles 
to  Connecticut  Lake.  But  the  ideal  way  to  make  this 
part  of  the  journey  is  behind  a  pair  of  those  gay  little 
Morgan  horses  which  Vermonters  breed  so  successfully. 
And  with  such  a  team  the  start  should  be  made  from  the 
Canaan  house  in  Canaan,  a  friendly  inn  with  a  sportsman- 
like flavor,  on  the  terrace  above  the  bridge  from  West 
Stewartstown. 

Pittsburg  was  the  original  "  Indian  Stream  Territory  " 
which  has  a  record  as  an  independent  republic  as  late  as 
the  eighteen-thirties.  The  region  was  a  magnificent  Indian 
hunting-ground  and  lay  unexplored  till  1787,  when  a  party 
of  Canadian  sm-veyors  penetrated  it.  Shortly  after  it  was 
drawn  into  the  limits  of  New  Hampshire  by  a  survey  of 
1789.  Then  two  former  Rangers  journeyed  up  to  it  from 
the  Lower  Coos  on  a  prospecting  trip.  They  came  upon 
the  broad  intervals  at  the  mouth  of  Indian  Stream  late  in 
September  when  the  bordering  woods  in  autumn  ripeness 
were  flaming  with  gorgeous  hues,  and  were  enraptured. 
After  a  month  of  hunting  and  trapping  in  the  game-filled 
forests,  they  returned  bearing  rich  spoil  and  flattering 
reports.  The  next  summer,  joined  by  a  few  others,  they 
came  up  again  to  attempt  a  settlement ;  and  "  pitches " 
were  made  on  the  meadows.  As  winter  approached,  how- 
ever, all  went  back  to  the  Lower  Coos.  Thereafter  only 
hunting  parties  roamed  the  country  till  about  1796,  when 


o 

m 
3 
O 


o 

< 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  369 

the  permanent  settlement  was  promoted  by  other  Valley- 
townsmen  who  had  obtained  a  deed  of  the  whole  territory 
from  a  local  Indian  chief  —  an  up-country  King  Philip. 

At  that  time  the  region  was  in  dispute,  and  many 
regarded  it  as  a  sort  of  terra  incognita  wholly  outside  of 
the  jurisdiction  of  either  New  Hampshire  or  Canada.  In 
the  wake  of  the  permanent  settlers  came  troubled  debtors 
and  persons  of  easy  morals  who  sought  the  remote  district 
untrammeled  by  awkward  laws  as  an  asylum  from  pressing 
creditors  or  from  punishment  for  crime.  But  the  settlers 
themselves  were  of  worthy  stock.  They  cleared  large 
farms  up  the  River's  sides  and  on  the  north  of  Connecticut 
Lake ;  built  comfortable  homes  ;  and  reared  great  families. 
Despite  the  mixed  character  of  the  community,  affairs 
moved  tranquilly  for  the  first  thirty  years  without  any 
fixed  system  of  local  government,  a  mild  form  of  vigilance 
committee  law  sufficing  for  the  treatment  of  flagrant 
offences  against  the  common  peace.  Then  disorganizing 
features  developed  and  the  need  of  a  local  government  of 
some  sort  for  mutual  protection  became  apparent ;  and 
accordingly,  in  the  spring  of  1829,  the  independent  state 
was  set  up  as  "  The  United  Inhabitants  of  the  Indian 
Stream  Territory."  It  was  a  unique  political  establish- 
ment, one  of  the  smallest  and  most  democratic  in  history. 
The  "  Centre  School-House  "  was  sufficient  for  the  assembly 
of  all  the  people  at  its  inauguration.  At  the  outset  the 
"  United  Inhabitants  "  asserted  their  independence  of  both 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  The  frame  of  gov- 
ernment comprehended  three  departments,  representative, 
executive,  and  judicial.  The  representative  department 
comprised  the  entire  voting  population,  each  member 
directly  representing  his  own  interests.  The  executive 
department  was  termed  the  "•  supreme  council,"  and  con- 


870  Connecticut  River 

sisted  of  five  persons,  to  be  chosen  annually.  The  judicial 
department  was  composed  of  justices  of  the  peace  elected 
by  the  people  in  their  municipal  capacity.  The  supreme 
council  constituted  a  court  of  last  appeal.  Trial  by  jury 
was  provided,  the  jury  to  consist  of  six  persons.  A  code 
of  laws  was  adopted  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  legislative 
branch.  A  military  company  of  forty  men  was  formed 
for  protection  against  "  foreign  invasion "  and  domestic 
violence. 

This  forest  state  with  its  novel  government  continued 
in  fair  working  order  for  about  five  years.  Then  it  fell  to 
pieces.  With  no  jail  it  could  only  resort  to  punishment 
by  fine  or  by  banishment.  It  lost  the  power  to  enforce 
the  execution  of  its  laws.  Finally  "treason  crept  in  "  ai^d 
its  destruction  was  complete.  This  was  in  1835.  Chaos 
followed.  The  people  divided  into  two  opposing  parties, 
one  invoking  the  protection  of  New  Hampshire,  the  other 
of  Canada.  New  Hampshire  assumed  a  quasi  jurisdiction 
over  the  territory  by  sending  officers  into  it  to  serve  pro- 
cesses issued  by  her  courts.  The  Canada  party  resisted 
them.  The  sheriff  of  Coos  County  came  up  and  appointed 
a  resident  deputy  sheriff.  At  the  same  time  he  gave  assur- 
ances of  the  protection  of  New  Hampshire  to  ill  who  were 
loyal  to  her,  warning  all  others  of  the  "  consequences  of 
treasonable  acts."  Shortly  after  a  county  magistrate  of 
Lower  Canada  appeared  with  promises  of  the  protection 
of  Great  Britain  to  all  favoring  Canadian  jurisdiction,  and 
with  the  added  advice  to  the  Canada  party  to  resist  the 
"  encroachments  "  of  the  New  Hampshire  authorities.  Sev- 
eral of  the  Canada  party  fortified  their  houses  and  armed 
themselves.  Soon  the  gage  was  thrown  down  and  war 
opened. 

It  was  a  short  and  decisive  campaign  of  a  single  fight. 


to 

o 


W 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  371 

On  a  certain  crisp  October  morning  the  New  Hampshire 
deputy  sheriff  awoke  to  find  his  house  surrounded  by  a 
company  of  armed  men  from  Canada  headed  by  a  Canadian 
sheriff,  together  with  a  band  of  the  local  Canada  party. 
The  deputy  was  seized  on  a  Canadian  warrant  and  hurried 
off  on  foot  toward  Canada.  News  of  the  capture  was 
quickly  spread  to  the  River  towns  below.  By  noon  a 
hundred  or  more  mounted  men  had  collected  from  the 
lower  border  towns,  Clarksville,  Stewartstown,  Canaan, 
and  Colebrook,  variously  armed  with  implements  of  war- 
fare ranging  from  miu-derous  farm  tools  to  the  regulation 
weapons  of  the  militia.  Immediately  the  improvised  army 
started  in  hot  pursuit.  The  invaders  were  overhauled  a 
mile  beyond  the  Canada  line,  and  there  fought.  The 
skirmish,  in  which  a  few  were  hurt  but  none  was  killed, 
ended  with,  the  rescue  of  the  prisoner  and  the  inglorious 
rout  of  his  captors.  The  rescued  deputy  was  brought 
back  to  the  safe  haven  of  the  country  store  at  Canaan, 
and  then  the  "  army  "  quietly  melted  away.  Subsequently 
the  militia  of  the  border  towns  were  called  to  the  assistance 
of  the  Coos  County  sheriff,  but  no  further  outbreak  occurred. 
Peace  came  with  the  final  establishment  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  New  Hampshire.  The  more  aggressive  of  the  Canada 
party  moved  over  the  border,  and  those  who  remained 
accepted  the  situation  philosophically.  In  1840  the  "Indian 
Stream  Territory  "  disappeared  from  the  map,  and  Pitts- 
burg, with  sixty  ratable  polls,  took  its  place.  The  town 
of  to-day  has  a  permanent  population  of  less  than  seven 
hundred. 

Now  lumbering  and  agriculture  are  the  principal  indus- 
tries of  this  pleasant  region.  The  Connecticut  lakes  and 
the  three  west-side  waterways,  —  Perry's,  Indian,  and 
Hall's  Streams.  —  are  the  chief  reservoirs  for  the  masses 


872  Connecticut  River 

of  logs  harvested  west  of  the  lakes  which  go  down  in  the 
annual  "  drives  "  to  the  various  paper  and  lumber  mills 
below  along  the  River's  length  into  the  Massachusetts 
Reach.  Millions  of  feet  of  liunber  are  driven  down  each 
year,  and  logging  gangs  of  hundreds  of  hardy  men  work 
in  the  woods  in  winter  and  on  the  drives  in  the  spring. 

Clarksville,  next  below  Pittsburg,  on  the  River's  first 
great  bend,  occupies  the  extensive  "  Dartmouth  College 
Grant,"  made  to  the  college  by  the  New  Hampshire  Leg- 
islature in  1789.  Its  fertile  river-side  lands  and  fringing 
forests  lay  unbroken,  except  by  a  single  settler,  till  as  late 
as  1820,  when  two  or  three  Dartmouth  students  ventured 
a  speculation  with  a  purchase  of  ten  thousand  acres  of  the 
grant.  When  the  settlement  was  incorporated,  in  the 
fifties,  it  took  the  name  of  Benjamin  Clark,  the  college 
men's  leader,  a  direct  descendant  from  the  Plymouth  Clarks 
of  the  "  Ma^yflower."  It  is  a  community  now  of  a  few 
hundred  inhabitants,  given  to  agriculture  and  lumbering. 

Stewartstown  and  Canaan  are  closely  related,  not  only 
by  the  bridge  which  has  long  connected  them,  but  histor- 
ically and  socially.  The  pioneer  settlers  of  both  were  from 
the  same  towns  down  the  Valley,  and  neighborly  interests 
were  maintained  from  the  start.  The  grantees,  however, 
were  of  different  stock.  Stewartstown  and  the  two  east- 
side  townships  next  below,  Colebrook  and  Columbia,  were 
originally  grants  made  by  Governor  John  Wentworth,  in 
1770,  to  a  company  of  Englishmen  composed  of  Sir  John 
Colebrook,  Sir  James  Cockburn,  and  John  Stewarts  of 
London,  and  John  Nelson,  of  New  Grenada  ;  Canaan,  with 
her  neighbors  Leamington  and  Bloomfield  (first  Mine- 
head),  were  earlier  granted  by  Governor  Benning  Went- 
worth, to  New  Englanders.  Stewartstown  was  named  for 
Mr.   Stewarts ;    Colebrook    was  ffiven  Sir  John's   name ; 


X 


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Along  the  Upper  Valley  373 

and  Columbia  was  Cockburn  Town  till  1811,  for  Sir  James. 
The  honor  of  having  some  of  their  names  thus  perpetuated 
was  all  that  the  English  patentees  got  out  of  these  grants. 
None  of  the  lot  was  settled  till  several  years  after  the 
Revolution.  They  are  pleasant  towns  now,  cultivating 
fertile  farms,  excellent  dairies,  and  some  manufactures; 
and  with  outlying  parts  rich  in  attractions  to  the  sports- 
man. Canaan  is  most  interesting  as  a  place  of  great  fine 
stock-farms.  All  cultivate  the  "summer  resort"  trade, 
and  cultivate  it  handsomely. 

As  the  Valley  proceeds  below  Stewartstown  and  Canaan 
on  its  luxurious  way  down  between  the  two  states,  Ver- 
mont's Monadnock  in  Leamington  and  Bowback  in  Strai> 
ford,  flanked  by  the  more  eastward  cones  of  Stratford's 
Percy  Peaks,  enrich  the  landscape.  To  Bowback  is  added 
the  distinction  of  being  the  highest  mountain  in  all  the 
Valley  immediately  adjoining  the  River,  except  Ascutney 
ninety  miles  farther  down. 

Stratford,  with  Brunswick  and  Maidstone,  opposite, 
marks  the  northern  extremity  of  the  rich  Coos  region  as 
the  pioneers  knew  it.  Thence  it  sweeps  down  the  VaUey 
in  imbroken  beauty  through  its  stretch  of  a  hundred  miles. 
That  part  between  these  north  towns  and  the  Fifteen-Miles 
Falls  is  now,  as  then,  in  the  nomenclature  of  the  Valley, 
the  Upper  Coos ;  the  reach  from  the  head  of  these  singing 
rapids  to  Lebanon  and  Hartford  next  below  the  seat  of 
Dartmouth,  is  still  the  Lower  Coos.  Wells  River  Jimction 
is  the  gateway  for  the  traveller  to  the  Upper  section,  and 
White  River  Junction  to  the  Lower  portions  of  this  lovely 
mountain-hedged  "  Garden  of  New  England." 

Of  the  Upper  Coos,  Stratford,  Northumberland,  and 


374  Connecticut  River 

Maidstone  were  the  outposts  of  the  Valley  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. At  Stratford  was  the  foremost  of  the  three  outer 
forts,  the  other  two  being  at  Northumberland.  Through 
Maidstone  passed  the  old  Indian  Trail  from  the  Canada 
camps  of  the  St.  Francis  tribes  to  the  Penobscots  in  Maine, 
which  was  still  used  in  the  Revolution.  This  trail  enter- 
ing the  Valley  by  the  Nulhegan  River  and  meeting  the 
Connecticut  at  Brunswick,  came  down  through  the  settled 
part  of  Maidstone,  and  here  taking  the  River  struck  the 
opposite  bank  at  Northumberland,  whence  the  Upper 
Ammonoosuc  was  followed  to  the  eastward.  Parts  of 
this  old  trail  and  bits  of  the  landmarks  of  the  Revolution 
are  yet  indicated  to  the  interested  visitor  by  local  antiqua- 
rians. Stratford  was  settled  principally  from  the  Con- 
necticut Stratford  on  Long  Island  Sound,  and  given  that 
town's  name  a  year  or  two  before  the  Revolution.  Maid- 
stone and  Brunswick  were  also  grants  to  Connecticut  men, 
but  were  eventually  settled  from  Massachusetts.  They  are 
small  rural  commimities  with  pleasant  villages.  Northum- 
berland is  the  oldest  of  this  group,  dating  from  1762. 
Some  of  their  scenery  is  wild,  and  all  is  beautiful.  Those 
on  the  New  Hampshire  side  are  lumber  manufacturing 
places.     All  invite  an  increasing  summer  population. 

In  Lancaster  and  in  Guildhall  and  Lunenburg  on  the 
Vermont  side  are  found  rare  combinations  of  scenic  charms. 
Crossed  by  Israel's  River  at  its  fall  to  the  Connecticut, 
with  great  intervals  bordering  both  rivers,  with  terraces 
sloping  gradually  up  to  low-browed  hills,  and  the  whole 
completely  encircled  by  mountains,  Lancaster's  natural 
features  are  exceptional  even  in  this  beautiful  region.  Add 
to  these  attractions  of  situation  the  neat  town  itself,  its 
broad  streets  shaded  by  elms,  some  of  which  were  set  out 
by  early  settlers   gifted  with  an  unusual  eye  for  beauty 


3 
'y5 


a 


O 

O 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  375 

united  with  utility,  and  the  engaging  picture  is  complete. 
The  principal  part  of  the  to\\Ti  lies  back  on  the  first  terrace 
above  the  Connecticut's  deep  intervals.  The  encircling 
mountain  scenery,  in  view  from  the  village,  or  seen  to 
greater  advantage  from  the  easily  accessible  Mount  Pleasant, 
one  of  its  three  hills,  embraces  the  range  of  the  White 
Mountains ;  the  Percy  Peaks  in  Stratford,  with  the  other 
northwest  heights,  in  earlier  days  called  the  "  land  pilot 
hills "  because  of  their  service  in  guiding  cross-country 
hunters  to  the  Connecticut ;  westward  the  Green  Mountains ; 
and  in  the  near  neighborhood,  the  Lunenburg  range. 

Lancaster  occupies  the  "  Upper  Coos  Meadows,"  upon 
the  richness  of  which  Rogers's  Rangers  dwelt  so  elo- 
quently in  their  accounts  of  the  north  Valley  country. 
The  first-comers,  about  1763,  were  an  uncommon  band  of 
strong  characters.  At  their  head  was  the  promoter,  David 
Page,  from  Petersham,  earlier  of  Lancaster  in  Massachu- 
setts. His  lieutenants  were  two  stalwart  young  men,  also 
from  Petersham,  Emmons  Stockwell  and  Edwards  Buck- 
nam,  both  in  their  early  twenties,  who  had  previously 
roamed  the  country,  one  as  a  ranger  in  Rogers's  company, 
the  other  as  a  hunter.  The  others  were  David  Page's  son 
and  his  daughter  Ruth,  a  girl  of  eighteen,  the  only  woman 
in  the  band,  and  a  few  heads  of  families  from  the  Massa- 
chusetts Lancaster  and  Lunenburg.  Stockwell  and  the 
younger  Page  came  up  ahead  to  take  possession  of  the 
grant.  Blazing  a  track  through  the  forest  all  the  way 
from  Haverhill,  forty  miles  below,  for  the  guidance  of 
those  who  were  to  follow,  they  arrived  in  the  autumn  and 
subsisted  through  the  winter  on  hunting  and  fishing.  The 
site  of  their  "  pitch  "  is  yet  shown  in  an  old  cellar-hole. 
In  the  spring  "Governor"  Page  arrived  with  the  rest, 
and  a  drove  of  twent);  head  of   cattle.      Before  a  year 


376  Connecticut  River 

had  passed  Emmons  Stockwell  and  Ruth  Page  made  a 
pre-wedding  journey  of  fifty  miles  down  the  Valley  on 
horseback  to  find  a  minister  to  solemnize  their  marriage. 
Later  Edwards  Bucknam  married  Page's  other  daughter, 
Susanna.  The  Stockwells  and  the  Bucknams  for  years 
led  in  the  material  and  social  progress  of  the  settlement, 
and  both  reared  large  families,  the  Stockwells  fifteen 
children,  the  Bucknams  ten.  Ruth  Stockwell  was  the 
perfected  woman  pioneer.  She  was  "  a  woman  of  action, 
full  of  courage  and  hope."  She  could  handle  a  gun  as 
easily  as  a  broom,  was  a  good  shot  as  well  as  a  good  cook, 
more  than  once  bringing  down  her  bear.  Lancaster  has 
long  been  a  shire  town,  and  a  highly  cultivated  community. 
The  fine  influences  of  the  days  when  the  old  Lancaster 
Academy  was  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity  still  remain, 
while  the  busy  mills  give  the  town  importance  as  a  manu- 
facturing centre. 

Lunenburg  and  Guildhall  were  begun  at  the  same  time 
as  Lancaster,  the  first  comers  and  their  followers  making 
clearings  on  both  sides  of  the  River.  The  intervals  were 
then  heavily  wooded  and  millions  of  feet  of  magnificent 
pine  timber  were  rolled  into  the  river  to  get  rid  of  it. 
Splendid  material  also  for  masts  for  the  king's  navy  was 
here,  but  none  apparently  was  reserved  for  this  purpose 
as  the  town  charters  required.  At  all  events  his  Majesty 
never  got  any  of  it.  The  settlers  must  have  fared  well 
despite  their  remoteness  from  bases  of  supplies.  The 
woods  were  rich  in  game,  and  the  River  teemed  with 
salmon.  At  the  head  of  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls,  south  of 
Lancaster,  salmon,  some  weighing  forty  pounds,  were  easily 
caught  at  night  with  torch  and  spear.  Lunenberg  and 
Guildhill  are  now  fruitful  agricultural  towns,  with  well 
tilled  farms  and  rich  creameries.    . 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  377 

The  rapids  of  the  Fifteen-Miles  Falls  through  their 
long  gradual  descent,  as  the  River  flows,  of  nearer  thirty 
miles  from  the  start  in  the  "  great  eddy  "  to  the  finish  in 
the  romantic  "  pitch,"  should  be  followed  along  the  river 
roads  by  carriage,  or  on  horseback  as  the  pioneers  followed 
them.  The  railroad  here  winds  away  from  the  River  to  ac- 
commodate the  town-centres  which  lie  back  over  the  hills. 
From  Lancaster,  starting  at  the  Lancaster  House  on  "  The 
Street,"  it  is  a  long  summer  afternoon's  drive  or  ride 
through  enchanting  country.  The  objective  point  should 
be  on  the  Vermont  side  at  East  Barnet,  where,  below  the 
"pitch,"  the  Passumpsic  enters,  and  the  River,  again 
widening,  is  dotted  by  the  "seven  islands"  to  which  at 
low  water  twice  seven  and  more  are  added,  hindering  the 
great  log  drives  coming  down  stream,  and  taxing  the  skill 
of  the  loggers  in  their  passage.  Downward  from  Lancaster 
the  river  roads  on  both  the  New  Hampshire  and  the  Ver- 
mont sides  run  for  the  greater  part  close  beside  the  rapids ; 
sometimes  crossing  an  interval  fringed  with  trees  and  bush, 
sometimes  cutting  into  small  woods  through  which  the 
tumbling  waters  sparkle  and  sing,  and  constantly  in  a  pan- 
orama of  varying  beauty.  On  the  New  Hampshire  side 
the  way  lies  through  South  Lancaster,  Dalton  with  the 
Dalton  mountains  rising  eastward,  and  Littleton  with 
the  range  of  low  Littleton  hills,  to  a  lower  village  where  the 
River  is  crossed  by  the  bridge  to  Lower  Waterford.  On 
the  Vermont  side,  crossing  from  Lancaster  by  the  South 
Lancaster  bridge,  it  passes  through  rural  parts  of  South 
Lunenberg  and  Concord  to  the  succession  of  Waterford 
villages.  Through  the  Waterfords  to  East  Barnet  the  up- 
land is  taken  and  then  the  lower  plain,  with  the  River  in 
constant  view,  and  across  it  the  procession  of  hills,  the 
Gardner    range    back    of    Monroe    (named    for    Parson 


378  Connecticut  River 

Gardner,  one  of  the  grantees  of  Bath  in  which  they  rise), 
and  the  distant  White  Mountains.  At  East  Barnet  the 
raiboad  again  comes  to  the  River's  side,  and  follows  it 
down  to  Wells  River  Junction  and  below. 

Barnet,  its  dream  of  a  busy  mart  at  the  head  of  steam- 
boat navigation  long  past,  enjoys  now  a  life  of  serenity  in 
the  profitable  culture  of  dairy  farms,  some  maple-sugar 
making,  and  some  prosperous  manufactures.  From  its 
situation  at  the  turn  of  the  River  southward  again  and  at 
the  junction  of  two  tributaries,  each  making  a  picturesque 
approach,  the  villages  of  the  township  look  out  from  their 
terraces  upon  a  succession  of  expansive  views.  The  town- 
ship has  its  historic  landmark  in  Round  Island  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Passumpsic  in  East  Barnet,  supposed  to  be 
the  place  to  which  the  provisions  were  brought  up  from 
"  Number  4  "  for  the  relief  of  Rogers's  Rangers  on  their  re- 
turn from  the  St.  Francis  campaign  of  1759,  and  then 
taken  back  before  Rogers  and  his  starving  companions 
arrived.  Something  yet  remains  of  the  Scotch  flavor  which 
the  early  settlers  imparted  to  the  town.  For  Barnet,  like 
its  neighbor  Ryegate,  was  begun  by  emigrants  from  Scot- 
land, in  and  about  1773,  sent  out  by  the  "  Scotch-American 
Company  of  Farmers,"  composed  of  farmers  living  in  or 
about  Glasgow. 

Haverhill  and  Newbury,  embracing  the  Lower  Coos 
Meadows,  —  the  rich  "Cowass"  tract  about  the  "Great 
Ox-Bow  "  most  beloved  by  the  Indians  —  rival  Lancaster 
and  Lunenburg  in  beauty  of  situation.  Wells  River  Junc- 
tion is  a  part  of  Newbury,  and  alert,  citified  Woodsville, 
opposite,  of  Haverhill.  Newbury  and  Haverhill  occupy  the 
sightly  terraces  back  from  the  River  with  the  meadows 
about  a  mile  in  breadth  between.  Through  the  intervals 
the  River  flows  at  an  average  width  of  about  five  hund- 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  379 

red  feet,  allotting  to  Newbury  much  the  larger  part  of 
the  meadows.  In  its  gentle  run  the  stream  takes  a 
straight  course  for  some  distance;  then  bending  and 
doubling  it  touches  the  Newbury  terrace ;  then  stretches 
luxuriously  toward  the  hills  of  Haverhill.  In  its  enclos- 
ure of  the  Ox-bow  meadows,  not  over-described  by  the 
local  historian  as  of  "  wondrous  beauty  and  fertility,"  it 
makes  a  circuit  of  nearly  four  miles  and  returns  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  starting  point.  Through  the  intervals 
it  has  repeatedly  changed  its  channel.  In  more  than  one 
place  portions  of  land  have  been  detached  from  one  town 
and  added  to  the  other,  and  so  shifted  from  Vermont  to 
New  Hampshire,  and  vice  versa. 

When  these  towns  were  begun,  only  a  dozen  years  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  a  growth  of  splendid  pine  covered  the 
plain  where  now  stands  Newbury  village,  and  on  the  New 
Hampshire  side  a  "  mighty  forest "  stretched  back  over  the 
hills  from  the  expansive  interval  to  distant  Moosilauke. 
The  River  abounded  in  salmon,  the  brooks  in  trout,  and 
the  forest  in  game.  Before  the  townships  were  actually 
chartered  a  few  pioneers  were  already  on  the  ground,  the 
first  families  coming  upon  rough  river-craft  or  afoot 
through  the  forests  along  trails  marked  by  blazed  trees. 
The  settlements  were  promoted  by  four  officers  of  Colonel 
Goffe's  regiment  at  the  conquest  of  Canada  —  Colonel 
Jacob  Bailey  of  Newbury  in  Massachusetts,  Captain  John 
Hazen  of  the  Massachusetts  Haverhill,  Lieutenant  Jacob 
Kent  and  Lieutenant  Timothy  Bedel,  —  who  united  in  the 
project  when  passing  through  the  fertile  region  on  their 
way  home  from  the  war.  Both  charters  were  seciu-ed  in 
1763,  dated  the  same  day.  Colonel  Bailey  identified  him- 
self with  the  development  of  Newbury,  Captain  Hazen 
with  that  of  Haverhill. 


380  Connecticut  River 

Both  towns  early  became  important  points  on  the 
River.  Haverhill  was  foremost  among  the  numerous  bid- 
ders (which  included  nearly  all  of  the  yoimg  and  ambitious 
Upper  Valley  towns)  for  Dartmouth  College  in  1769  when 
Eleazar  Wheelock  was  casting  about  for  a  situation.  The 
town  offered  him  a  generous  domain  in  North  Haverhill 
overlooking  the  interval ;  and  so  assiu-ed  of  its  acceptance 
were  the  subscribers  that  they  had  a  surveyor  employed  to 
lay  it  out  for  college  purposes,  when  to  their  astonishment 
jind  dismay  the  prize  went  to  Hanover.  It  was  a  hard 
blow ;  but  a  quarter  of  a  century  after,  in  lieu  of  a  college 
the  Haverhill  Academy  appeared  and  shortly  developed 
into  a  feeder  of  the  lost  Dartmouth.  When  stage-coaching 
was  at  its  prime,  Haverhill  Corner,  the  chief  village  of  the 
township,  had  become  a  bustling  centre,  for  The  Corner 
was  a  place  where  the  stages  of  the  great  "  through  lines  " 
between  the  seaboard  and  the  north  "  laid  up  "  over  night. 
Then  big  cheery  taverns  were  here  and  life  was  animated 
with  the  comings  and  goings  of  many  travellers.  Some- 
times the  nabobs  of  that  day,  travelling  the  road  in  their 
grand  private  equipages,  added  a  dash  of  gaiety  to  the  scene 
about  the  taverns.  The  road,  too,  was  enlivened  by  the 
passage  up  and  down  of  great  merchandise  wagons.  New- 
bury also  enjoyed  a  period  of  animation  as  a  centre  of  the 
River  transportation  before  the  competition  of  the  rail- 
roads. It,  too,  had  its  day  of  cheerful  taverns,  and  the 
now  quiet  village  thoroughfare  bustled  with  life.  Educa- 
tional institutions  of  importance  were  then  here,  among 
them  the  Newbury  Seminary.  The  old  seminary  building 
yet  remains,  an  example  of  the  plainer  type  of  the  New 
England  academy  of  the  early  nineteenth  century. 

Picturesqueness  is  the  prevailing  note  of  these  towns 
as  they  appear  to-day.     Along  the  serene  streets  here  and 


3 
O 


o 


c-j 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  381 

there,  fronted  by  graceful  elms,  the  visitor  comes  agreeably 
upon  fine  specimens  of  those  spacious  mansions,  survivals 
of  the  late  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  centuries, 
which  characterize  and  digniiy  the  older  River  towns 
throughout  the  long  Valley.  Especially  fine  is  the  "  Col- 
onel Thomas  Johnson  house "  on  the  Ox-Bow,  Newbury 
side,  the  white  oak  frame  of  which  was  raised  on  the  day 
that  the  news  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington  reached  Newbury, 
whereupon  the  workmen  immediately  left  to  join  the  army 
at  Cambridge.  Most  interesting,  also,  is  the  white  group 
about  the  square  at  Haverhill  Corner.  One  of  these 
houses  is  an  old-time  inn  remodelled,  the  "  Bliss  Tavern  " 
of  genial  memory.  In  Newbury  the  present-day  inn  is 
an  enlargement  of  another  old  tavern  dating  from  soon 
after  the  Revolution.  Both  towns,  with  their  fine  interval 
and  upland  farms,  their  dairying,  maple  sugar  making, 
and  manufacturing  concerns,  continue  to  be  comfortably 
prosperous.  Several  of  the  larger  farms  have  descended 
from  father  to  son  through  the  generations  from  the  first 
settlement. 

Of  the  towns  along  the  remaining  reach  of  thirty  miles 
to  White  River  Junction,  each  has  its  own  distinct  charm 
either  in  setting  or  environment.  The  villages  and  farms 
of  Piermont,  next  below  Haverhill,  and  Bradford  below 
Newbury,  spread  picturesquely  over  terraces  in  the  heart 
of  tranquil  landscape.  Orford  and  Fairlee  next  below 
occupy  beautiful  openings,  with  sweeps  of  green  interval 
broadening  on  the  Orford  side,  the  River  flowing  gently 
between  in  a  graceful  curve.  The  Street  of  Orford,  over- 
looking the  interval,  is  dignified  by  a  succession  of  old  white 
mansion-houses  bespeaking  the  quiet  elegance  of  former 
days.  Fairlee's  Street,  backed  by  a  rugged  cliff  at  the 
upper  end,  is  markedly  neat.     From  the  bridge  connecting 


382  Connecticut  River 

the  two  towns  one  may  look  down  upon  the  scene  of  the 
trials  of  Morey's  steamboat  in  the  seventeen-nineties. 
Lyme  and  Thetford,  adjoining  Hanover  and  Norwich,  are 
larger  villages  than  their  neighbors  above,  having  some 
manufacturing  in  parts,  but  an  outlying  pastoral  country. 

The  Hanover  of  to-day,  though  small  in  population 
outside  the  college  colony,  has  an  urban  air  and  a  distinc- 
tion finer  and  rarer  than  would  have  been  conferred  upon 
it  had  those  seventeenth  century  "  Dresden  statesmen " 
won  their  play  for  a  state  and  transformed  the  college- 
town  into  a  capital,  only  to  mix  politics  with  learning.  As 
it  is,  Hanover  is  the  college  town  preeminent  in  the  Valley, 
its  classic  shades  undefiled  by  distracting  elements.  Lying 
half  a  mile  back  from  and  above  the  River,  and  a  mile  distant 
from  the  railroad  on  the  Vermont  side,  the  town  is  approached 
most  agreeably  by  the  regular  stage  —  a  genuine  old-time 
Concord  coach,  —  which  meets  all  trains  at  the  Norwich- 
Hanover  station.  The  w^ay  from  the  station  crosses  an 
old  stoutrtimbered  covered  bridge,  mounts  an  abrupt  rise 
from  the  River-bank,  winds  along  college-flavored  streets, 
and  on  to  the  finish  with  a  grand  swing  of  the  coach  up 
to  the  portal  of  the  Wheelock  Inn  on  the  College  Plain. 

The  assemblage  of  college  buildings  of  varied  dates  and 
architecture  around  and  about  the  deep  elm-shaded  Green, 
constitutes  a  dignified  and  inspiriting  spectacle.  Among 
the  stately  structures  the  sites  of  Eleazar  Wheelock' s  hum- 
ble beginnings  are  definitely  traced.  Here  is  the  place  of 
his  first  log  hut  in  which  the  college  was  started  by  the 
moving  up  of  the  Indian  school  from  old  Lebanon  in  Con- 
necticut; here  the  second  and  ampler  president's  house, 
still  preserved  in  the  frame  of  the  Howe  Library;  here 
the  spot  where  the  first  Commencement  was  held,  in  August, 
1771,  in  the  open  air.     There  were  on  that  memorable 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  383 

occasion  four  candidates  for  the  degree  in  arts,  the  stage 
was  a  platform  of  rough-hewn  boards  ascended  by  an  inclined 
hemlock  plank.  The  histories  tell  of  Governor  John  Went- 
worth's  presence  with  a  retinue  of  forty  fine  gentlemen 
from  Portsmouth,  and  how  an  ox  was  roasted  whole  on 
the  Green  and  served  to  the  populace  with  a  barrel  of  rum, 
at  the  governor's  expense.  Notwithstanding  this  magnif- 
icent outlay,  at  the  commencement  dinner  next  day  at 
the  president's  house  some  of  the  governor's  fastidious 
friends  were  shocked  at  the  crudeness  of  the  feast  for  the 
lack  of  proper  table  furnishings,  and  because  the  college 
cook  lay  asleep  from  over-indulgence  in  the  holiday  bottle. 
Moor  Hall  marks  the  site  of  the  first  building  for  the 
Moor's  Indian  Charity  School,  the  nucleus  of  the  college. 
The  colonial  College  Church  dates  from  1796.  The  new 
Dartmouth  Hall  of  1905-06  reproduces  the  Old  Dartmouth 
Hall,  begun  in  1784,  from  timbers  hewn  from  great  trees 
on  its  site,  and  the  centre  of  the  cherished  old-time  college 
group,  till  its  lamentable  burning  in  1904.  In  Wilson 
Hall  are  seen  portraits  of  Eleazar  Wheelock  and  his  suc- 
cessors in  the  college  presidency ;  of  Samson  Occum,  the 
Mohegan,  Wheelock' s  first  pupil  in  the  old  Lebanon  school, 
that  wonderful  Indian  who,  sent  to  England  in  the  interest 
of  Wheelock' s  work,  aroused  such  enthusiasm  among  the 
clergy  and  nobility  by  his  preaching,  and  raised  the  English 
and  Scotch  funds  of  twelve  thousand  pounds,  headed  with 
the  king's  subscription ;  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  for  whom 
the  coUege  was  named  in  compliment  to  his  headship  of  the 
London  trustees  of  the  English  fund ;  of  Daniel  Webster, 
the  "re-founder";  and  of  other  worthies  identified  with 
the  college's  growth.  In  College  Hall,  the  most  elegant 
of  the  modern  buildings,  with  its  grand  semi-circular  porch 
and  terrace,  commanding  a  full  view  over  the  Campus,  its 


384  Connecticut  Riv^er 

tastefully  embellished  interior,  with  great  dining-hall,  club- 
rooms,  billiard  and  pool  rooms,  is  seen  the  modem  college 
club-house  in  perfection.  In  a  favored  spot  east  of  the 
central  grounds  is  found  the  fine  athletic  field.  Beyond, 
in  the  College  Park  of  sylvan  charm,  is  the  classic  tower, 
near  which  the  seniors  on  class-day  gather  to  smoke  the 
"pipe  of  peace"  after  the  old  Indian  fashion.  On  the 
River  bank  are  the  boat-houses  for  the  college  men's  fleet 
of  canoes.  On  the  crest  of  the  bank,  north  of  the  bridge, 
and  near  "  Webster's  Yale,"  stood  the  pine  from  which  in 
1773  John  Ledyard  fashioned  his  canoe,  a  "dugout" 
fifty  feet  long  and  three  feet  wide,  for  that  pioneer  voyage 
of  his  down  the  River's  length  to  old  Hartford,  with  a 
bearskin  for  covering,  a  shelter  of  willow  twigs  at  one 
end  of  the  craft,  dried  venison  for  provisions,  and  Ovid 
and  the  Greek  Testament  for  companionship :  one  of  the 
first  navigators  of  the  Upper  Connecticut  of  the  Caucasian 
race,  and  one  of  the  most  romantic  and  original  manifesta- 
tions of  the  Dartmouth  spirit,  which  has  since  so  conspic- 
uously pervaded  Dartmouth  men,  as  this  epitome  of  his 
extraordinary  career,  contributed  by  a  distinguished  alum- 
nus, strikingly  exhibits :  — 

John  Ledyard,  born  at  Groton,  Connecticut,  1751.  Enters 
Dartmouth  College  1772.  While  a  freshman  absents  himself  for 
three  months  without  leave  in  rambling  among  the  Indians  of  Can- 
ada and  the  Six  Xations.  Leaves  the  college  in  a  canoe  made  with 
his  own  hands  and  descends  the  Connecticut  alone  to  Hartford.  A 
sailor  before  the  mast,  goes  to  Gibraltar  and  the  Barbarj  Coast, 
returning  by  the  West  Indies.  Appears  in  London  and  there  meets 
Captain  Cook,  then  about  to  sail  on  his  voyage  round  the  world,  who 
appoints  him  corporal  of  marines.  On  this  expedition  is  absent  for 
four  years,  visiting  the  South  Sea  Islands,  China,  Siberia,  the  western 
coast  of  North  America,  twice  entering  the  Arctic  Seas  in  quest  of 
the  Northwest  passage.     Returns  to  America,  publishes  his  travels. 


O 


o 


O 

o 


o 
U 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  385 

and  endeavors  to  enlist  merchants  in  commerce  with  the  East.  Is 
next  seen  in  Spain  and  in  Paris,  there  meeting  Thomas  Jefferson, 
then  American  minister  at  the  Court  of  France,  whom  he  impresses 
with  his  project  for  the  exploration  of  the  territory  between  the 
Pacific  and  the  Mississippi  which  twenty  years  later  was  traversed 
by  Lewis  and  Clark,  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  Pre- 
sident. Unites  with  John  Paul  Jones  in  an  undertaking  to  establish 
trading-posts  on  the  Northwest  Coast,  there  to  traffic  in  furs,  which 
fails  for  want  of  adequate  capital.  Determined  to  explore  western 
North  America,  presents  himself  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  from  the 
Empress  Catherine  secures  a  passport  across  her  dominions  to  Beh- 
ring  Strait.  Reaches  Yakutsk  on  the  Lena,  when  he  is  recalled 
because  of  the  jealousy  of  Russian  fur  traders  and  under  guard  sent 
back  to  the  confines  of  Poland  where  he  is  dismissed  with  the  com- 
mand never  again  to  enter  the  Empire.  Resolves  to  explore  Africa 
and  while  fitting  out  his  caravan  dies  at  Cairo,  1788,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-seven. 

In  college  he  was  a  favorite  with  his  fellow  students,  not  unduly 
diligent  in  study,  facile  in  acquisition,  impatient  of  discipline.  Else- 
where he  was  distinguished  for  his  kind  and  lovable  disposition,  his 
unselfishness  and  philanthropy.  He  foresaw  and  foretold  the  com- 
mercial future  of  western  North  America  and  the  East.  His  was 
the  Dartmouth  spirit. 

In  the  country  about  Hanover  are  delightful  drives. 
Across  the  River  in  Norwich  the  roads  out  from  that  village 
lead  to  pleasant  parts  with  fair  off-reaching  prospects.  In 
the  centre  of  Norwich  was  long  the  seat  of  Norwich  Uni- 
versity, developed  from  Captain  Alden  Partridge's  military 
school  in  1834,  whence  graduated  some  famous  men-of- 
arms  in  their  day.  Below  in  the  Vermont  Hartford  town- 
ship are  the  beautiful  Olcott  Falls ;  and  Lebanon,  on 
the  New  Hampshire  side,  is  replete  with  charms. 

These  two  towns,  marking  the  south  bound  of  the 
Lower  Coos  region,  are  the  largest  in  population  of  all  the 
towns  in  the  Valley's  sweep  from  the  north,  yet  of  rural 


386  Connecticut  River 

proportions ;  Hartford  counting  about  four  thousand  and 
Lebanon  five  thousand  inhabitants. 

Within  the  twenty-five  miles'  reach  between  White 
Kiver  Junction  and  the  old  frontier  post  of  "Number  4," 
Charlestown,  in  the  last  French  war,  the  foiu-  Vermont 
towns  of  Hartland,  Windsor,  Wethersfield,  and  Spring- 
field, and  the  New  Hampshire  Plainfield,  Cornish,  and 
Claremont,  lie  placid  and  prosperous  all,  while  Ascutney 
rises  in  its  noble  outlines,  the  central  landscape  feature  of 
this  part  of  the  Valley. 

Windsor  remains  the  historic  town  of  this  group.  Along 
its  broad  elm-lined  older  streets  is  retained  not  a  little  of 
the  architecture  of  the  period  when  Windsor  was  the  first 
town  in  Vermont  in  importance  and  wealth.  That  was 
through  the  first  third  of  its  history  from  the  closing 
eighteenth  century,  when  it  was  distinguished  as  a  town 
of  learning  and  refinement  (a  distinction  it  has  never  lost), 
eminent  for  its  bar,  and  for  men  of  leading  noted  for  their 
high  public  character.  The  principal  dwellings  then  erected 
were  of  the  commodious  colonial  type,  often  square  and 
white,  set  in  ample  grounds,  amid  large  and  handsome 
gardens,  an  example  of  which  is  seen  in  the  old  Evarts 
mansion  on  the  main  street.  The  principal  inn  was  then 
a  hospitable  public  house  with  spacious  pillared  porch 
and  a  great  arched  ballroom  the  grand  feature  within 
The  old  inn  has  gone  and  the  traveller  must  lament  its 
passing  in  the  absence  of  an  adequate  tavern  in  the  town 
of  to-day.  The  historic  landmarks,  besides  the  old  "  Con- 
stitution house  "  in  which  Vermont  was  born,  include  the 
South  Church,  remodelled  from  the  meeting-house  where 
the  state-making  convention  first  met.  Various  literary 
institutions  flourish  in  the  town  imharmed  by  the  sombre 


John  Ledyard,  the  Traveller. 
One  of  the  most  romantic  and  original  manifestations  of  the 
Dartmouth   spirit." 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  387 

influence  of  the  Vermont  State  Prison  in  its  fairest  part. 
Cornish  and  Plainfield,  on  the  hills  across  the  River,  are 
now  distinguished  as  summer  seats  of  art  and  literature. 
For  scattered  about  the  neighborhood  of  fascinating  Blow- 
me-down  Brook,  which  separates  these  towns  on  its  run  to 
the  River,  is  planted  the  summer  colony  of  metropolitan 
artists  and  writers,  the  Nestor  of  which,  as  the  first  comer, 
is  Augustus  St.  Gaudens.  Sculptors,  painters,  etchers, 
decorators,  principally  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
Boston,  constitute  this  colony,  together  with  a  few  pen- 
men, as  Norman  Hapgood  and  Winston  Churchill,  and 
some  members  of  the  other  professions.  Their  dwellings 
are  of  gaily  varying  fashions  :  some  modelled  after  Italian 
and  Spanish  villas;  some,  old  farm-houses  made  over  — 
Augustus  St.  Gaudens' s  was  a  tavern  ;  others,  quite  stately 
country  seats,  being  the  residences  of  the  more  plutocratic 
penmen ;  all  in  beautiful  natiu-al  settings.  The  plantation 
lies  secluded  five  miles  off  by  the  river  roads  from  the  cov- 
ered bridge  connecting  Cornish  with  Windsor,  whence  the 
Cornish  stage  makes  its  one  trip  a  day. 

Claremont  and  Springfield,  the  latter  opposite  Charles- 
town  and  connected  by  an  electric-car  line  (the  northern- 
most yet  in  the  Valley)  with  the  railroad,  now  on  the  east 
side,  crossing  the  River  at  Windsor,  are  both  manufactiu-- 
ing  centres  of  note,  with  deep  farms  fringing  on  their 
intervals  and  terraces.  Claremont  utilizes  the  water-power 
of  Sugar  River ;  Springfield's  principal  establishments  are 
about  the  falls  of  the  beautiful  Black  River.  While  both 
towns  have  lovely  natural  attractions,  the  chief  one  of 
Springfield,  comprised  in  the  deep  narrow  valley  back  of 
the  main  village  through  which  the  Black  River  makes 
approach  to  the  Connecticut,  is  unique.  Owing  to  Gov- 
ernor Benning  Wentworth's  fondness  for  complimenting 


388  Connecticut  River 

his  noble  friends,  Claremont  derives  its  name  from  that  of 
the  English  country  seat  of  Lord  Clive.  Springfield  repeats 
the  name  of  the  Massachusetts  Springfield.  Charlestown, 
with  its  greater  wealth  of  historical  associations,  and  its 
tranquil  rural  aspect,  particularly  invites  the  summer 
sojourner.  Along  its  broad  main  street,  only  a  few  rods 
back  from  the  railroad  station  and  park  displaying  "  Num- 
ber 4  "  lettered  in  the  greensward,  are  numerous  historic 
homes ;  and  its  agreeable  institutions  include  a  well- 
equipped  memorial  public  library.  The  site  of  old  Num- 
ber 4  is  properly  indicated  with  other  landmarks  of  the 
history-making  epoch  in  which  Charlestown  had  so  leading 
a  hand ;  and  delightful  walks  and  rides  in  the  country 
round  about  abound. 

Between  the  gorges  at  Bellows  Falls  and  at  Brattle- 
borough,  twenty  miles  apart,  in  the  reach  where  the  Val- 
ley again  expands  luxuriously,  Walpole,  Westmoreland, 
and  Chesterfield  are  placed  picturesquely  on  the  River's 
east  banks,  with  Westminster,  Putney,  and  Dummerston 
on  the  west  side.  From  the  rugged  heights  of  Bellows 
Falls  Village,  and  the  abrupt  slopes  of  Kilburn  Peak 
opposite,  the  lovely  meadows  of  Walpole  and  Westminster 
immediately  outspread.  Bellows  Falls  Village  is  the 
business  heart  of  Rockingham  and  the  second  place  for 
population  in  the  Vermont-side  line  through  the  Valley, 
Brattleborough  holding  the  first  place.  The  towns  between 
are  now  charmful  villages  with  outlying  farms  treasuring 
pleasant  memories  of  an  active  past.  Walpole,  for  a  bril- 
liant period  in  the  late  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth 
centuries,  had  especial  fame  for  its  society  of  wits  to  which 
the  whole  region  round  contributed.  Chief  of  them  was 
'•  Joe "   Dennie.   "  delicately    made,   needy  of  purse,  but 


o 


o 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  389 

usually  dressing  in  pumps  and  white  stockings,"  who 
edited  the  Farmers'  Weekly  Museu^n,  which  Isaiah  Thomas 
began  here  in  1793,  and  afterward  Tlie  Portfolio  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  whose  writings  in  Walpole  won  him  the  sobri- 
quet of  the  "American  Addison."  Another  was  Royal 
Tyler  of  Brattleborough,  in  his  sedate  after-years  chief- 
justice  of  Vermont,  wit  and  poet,  and  author  of  T7ie 
Contrast,  the  first  American  play  to  be  acted  upon  a  reg- 
ular stage  by  an  established  company  of  players,  —  at  the 
old  John  Street  Theatre  in  New  York,  in  1786.  Others 
were  clever  young  men,  some  of  whom  became  great  law- 
yers. The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  W.  Bellows,  of  fragrant 
memory,  in  his  chronicles  of  the  Bellows  family  in  Wal- 
pole beginning  with  Colonel  Benjamin  Bellows,  the  founder, 
tells  how  these  roystering  Walpole  wits  converted  the  vil- 
lage tavern  into  a  sort  of  literary  pandemonium,  in  which 
fine  scholarship,  elegant  wit,  late  card-playing,  hearty 
eating,  and  hard  drinking  mingled  in  a  very  fascinating 
complication.  The  literary  flavor  yet  lingers  about  the  mel- 
low town,  and  it  is  still  a  favorite  summer  abiding-place  of 
literary  folk  ;  but  the  convivial  spirit  has  forever  departed. 
So,  too,  have  gone  with  the  old  days  the  bibulous  customs, 
when  in  a  single  year  forty-eight  hundred  barrels  of  cider 
were  made  and  all  drunk  here,  an  average  of  three  barrels 
to  each  man,  woman,  and  child  then  in  the  town ;  and  at 
the  tavern  feastings  punch  flowed  as  freely  as  water. 

Brattleborough,  spreading  over  its  four  irregular  ter- 
races and  intervening  dells,  with  the  deep  background  of 
gradually-rising  hills  and  the  foreground  of  Wantastiquit 
lifting  a  precipitous  cliff  above  the  winding  River,  fitly 
heads  the  Upper  Valley's  final  reach  to  the  finish  at  the 
Massachusetts  line.  No  town  on  the  River  is  more  attract- 
ively set.     Its  pleasant  streets,  abundantly  shaded,  mount 


390  Connecticut  River 

the  terraces,  here  and  there  with  steep  ascent,  dip  into  the 
vales,  and  cross  broad  plains.  Comfortable  dwellings, 
often  embowered  in  trees,  not  infrequently  with  gardens, 
or  with  lawTis  to  the  sidewalk  edge,  line  the  thoroughfares 
and  byways.  It  was  for  its  romantic  beauty  together  with 
its  salubriousness,  that,  half  a  century  and  more  ago,  during 
the  prosperous  vogue  of  the  "water-cure,"  Brattleborough 
was  selected  for  the  most  extensive  establishments  of  this 
class,  when  numerous  professional  persons,  scholars  and 
authors,  were  attracted  to  the  place  and  mixed  water  with 
literature.  Its  charm  of  situation  and  environment  also, 
more  than  its  happening  to  be  the  home  of  his  wife's  fore- 
bears, brought  Rudyard  Kipling  to  abide  here  for  a  period, 
and  attempt  the  life  of  a  literary  country  gentleman.  At 
his  picturesque  seat,  —  "  The  Naulahka,"  —  he  wrote  his 
Captains  Courageous.  Other  masters  in  art  as  in  liter- 
ature have  had  the  good  fortime  to  have  been  born  here 
or  in  Chesterfield  across  the  River.  Among  these  are  the 
Mead  family,  —  Larkin  Goldsmith  Mead,  the  sculptor, 
born  (1835)  at  Chesterfield,  but  spending  his  boyhood  in 
Brattleborough,  and  modeling  here  that  colossal  snow 
image  of  an  angel  which  got  his  name  into  the  newspapers 
and  brought  him  his  patron  ;  his  younger  brother  William 
Rutherford  Mead,  the  architect,  born  in  Brattleborough 
(1846) ;  their  sister,  Elinor  G.  Mead,  who  became  the  wife 
of  William  Dean  Howells ;  and  their  cousin,  Edwin  Doak 
Mead,  born  in  Chesterfield  (1849),  essayist,  lecturer,  re- 
former, philanthropist,  and  civic  leader.  The  painter 
William  Morris  Hunt  (1824-1879)  and  his  younger  brother 
the  architect,  Richard  Morris  Hunt  (1828-1895)  too,  were 
natives  of  Brattleborough,  but  when  they  were  boys  the 
family  moved  to  New  Haven.  Brattleborough  is  favored 
by  some    aesthetic    industries,  notably   piano    and  organ 


bO 

O 
;-! 

O 


=q 


to 


pq 


Along  the  Upper  Valley  391 

making,  together  with  manufactures  of  such  utilities  as 
hosiery,  power  pumps,  and  brass  castings.  It  has  various 
literary  institutions,  with  one  of  the  best  public  libraries  in 
the  Upper  Valley,  generously  endowed  by  a  Brattleborough 
citizen ;  a  pleasing  "  opera  house " ;  and  a  public  park 
favored  by  handsome  trees,  and  with  a  lookoff  over  an 
exquisite  interval  deep  down  below  the  plain  which  it 
occupies.  Old  Chesterfield,  on  the  upland  back  from  the 
River,  is  a  serene  agricultural  town  now,  with  a  rich  past 
upon  which  its  natives  love  to  dwell.  Through  the  first 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  its  Chesterfield  Academy, 
as  Edwin  D.  Mead,  of  the  distinguished  alumni,  has  suffi- 
ciently shown,  was  only  second  in  importance  to  Exeter 
among  New  Hampshire  academies. 

Vernon  and  Hinsdale  mark  the  end  of  the  Upper 
Valley  attractively.  Hinsdale  is  the  larger  and  a  manu- 
facturing town;  Vernon  the  smaller,  given  mostly  to  agri- 
culture. In  Vernon,  in  the  village  cemetery,  is  the  grave 
of  Jemima  Howe,  the  "  Fair  Captive."  South  Vernon  has 
a  pungent  flavor  as  a  place  of  cider-mills. 


XXVI 

The  Massachusetts  Reach 

Northfield's  attractive  Seat  at  its  Head  —  The  Dwight  L.  Moody  Institutions  — 
Landmarks  of  the  Indian  Wars  —  Clarke's  Island  and  its  Spectre  Pirate  — 
Eural  Hill  Towns  below  Northfield  —  Beautiful  Greenfield  —  Turner's 
Falls  —  Historic  Deerfield  —  Rare  Deerfield  Old  Street  and  its  Landmarks 
—  Picturesque  Sunderland  and  Whately  —  Old  Hatfield  and  Hadley  —  The 
Russell  Parsonage  and  the  "  Regicides  "  —  "  Elm  Valley  ".a  fine  Type  of 
the  Colonial  Farmnseat. 

WITH  its  white  and  neat  villages  beautifully  dotting 
the  symmetrical  slopes  backed  by  mountain  ranges 
on  both  sides  of  the  River,  and  the  lofty  builduigs  of  its 
Dwight  L}Tnan  Moody  institutions  the  most  conspicuous 
features  of  the  landscape,  Northfield  picturesquely  heads 
the  Valley's  reach  of  fifty  miles  across  Massachusetts,  as  is 
fitting  for  the  upper  gateway  to  a  region  in  which  pictur- 
esqueness  is  the  dominant  note  throughout.  The  Moody 
institutions  give  an  evangelical  tiage  to  the  town  of  to-day, 
which  but  softens  its  varied  attractions  to  the  worldly  eye. 
Interesting  and  impressive  as  practical  monuments  of  the 
crowning  endeavor  in  the  life-work  of  a  good  man,  whose 
object  in  founding  them  here  in  the  place  of  his  birth  was 
to  help  the  poor  in  purse  but  not  in  spirit  to  help  them- 
selves to  a  useful  education,  these  institutions  now  embrace 
the  Northfield  Seminary  for  young  women,  comprising 
the  group  of  academic  buildings  which  occupy  the  main 
estate  in  East  Northfield ;  and  the  Mount  Hermon  School 
for  young  men,  with  handsome  buildings  and  a  generous 
campus  for  athletic  games,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  River 

392 


The  Massachusetts  Reach  393 

below  the  Seminary  plant.  The  other  attractions  of  the 
old  town  are  found  in  the  comfortable  aspect  of  the  tree- 
embowered  streets ;  the  mountain  drives  about  the  sur- 
rounding country ;  and  the  numerous  historic  spots. 
Beers's  Mountain  with  Beers's  Hill  at  its  southwest  foot, 
reminiscent  of  Captain  Richard  Beers  and  King  Philip's 
War,  lies  in  East  Northfield  on  the  range  of  highlands 
forming  the  background  of  the  town.  Captain  Beers's 
grave,  marked  with  the  memorial  stone,  is  seen  on  the 
southwesterly  spur  of  Beers's  Hill.  Beers's  Plain,  also 
marked,  where  Captain  Beers  and  his  men  were  surprised 
from  the  ambush,  was  the  site  of  an  Indian  village.  To 
the  eastward  lay  the  "  Great  Swamp,"  by  the  side  of  which, 
according  to  Mrs  Rowlandson's  narrative,  the  horde  of  two 
thousand  Indians  made  their  camp  for  a  night  in  March, 
1676. 

Clark's  Island,  in  the  River  off  the  upper  end  of 
Pine  Meadow,  has  its  legend  of  Captain  Kidd  and  his  hid- 
den treasm*e.  As  the  tale  runs,  the  captain  and  his  men, 
despite  the  falls  and  other  obstructions  which  repelled  less 
venturesome  skippers,  sailed  their  pirate  ship  up  from  the 
Sound  till  they  reached  this  secluded  spot.  Here  they 
landed  a  heavy  chest  of  gold ;  dug  a  deep  hole  and  lowered 
the  chest  into  it ;  covered  the  whole  with  earth  and  stones ; 
and  then  in  the  good  old-fashioned  pirate's  way,  selecting 
one  of  their  niunber  by  lot,  despatched  him  and  placed  his 
dead  body  on  top  of  the  heap,  that  his  ghost  might  forever 
after  guard  the  treasure  from  avaricious  fortune-seekers. 
The  spectre  pirate  seems  to  have  been  faithful  to  his  trust 
if  we  are  to  believe  the  old  dames'  stories  of  the  awful  fate 
that  befell  the  would-be  harvesters  of  the  fabled  gains  of 
his  master,  the  bold  —  and  maligned  —  corsair. 

Erving,  below  East  Northfield,  perpetuating  the  name 


394  Connecticut  River 

of  a  merchant  of  Boston,  John  Erving,  who  bought  its 
territory  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  centiu-y,  is  a  rural 
hill  town,  devoted  to  agriculture  among  its  hills  and  to  con- 
siderable manufacture  along  Miller's  River,  which  waters 
its  southern  side.  Gill,  opposite,  having  the  Comiecticut 
on  two  of  its  sides  and  on  another  side  the  tributary  of 
Falls  River,  is  also  largely  a  hill  town  enjoying  extensive 
landscapes  from  its  highest  elevations,  and  with  spreading 
intervals  on  the  River's  borders.  It  was  part  of  Greenfield 
till  1793,  when  it  was  set  up  as  an  independent  town  and 
took  its  name  from  Moses  Gill,  a  worthy  Massachusetts  lieu- 
tenant governor  next  succeeding  Samuel  Adams.  Gill  Vil- 
lage, the  oldest  hamlet,  occupying  a  hill-framed  plain,  or 
what  an  artist  has  described  as  a  twisted  hollow,  is  agree- 
ably assembled  about  a  central  green. 

Greenfield,  at  the  turn  of  the  great  curve  where  the 
River  again  trends  southward,  is  the  upper  railroad  centre 
of  the  Massachusetts  Reach.  In  beauty  and  character  of 
situation  it  does  not  belie  its  name.  With  its  frame  of 
green  hills  varying  in  contour,  its  two  local  streams 
meandering  through  verdant  parts,  —  Falls  River  coursing 
along  the  upper  eastern  border  to  the  Connecticut,  Green 
River  winding  to  the  Deerfield,  —  and  its  fine  fringes  of 
green  intervals,  it  is  veritably  a  town  set  in  green  fields. 
The  central  part  spreads  over  an  elevated  plain,  marked 
by  broad  beautifully  shaded  streets,  the  Main  Street  double- 
lined  with  elms  ;  by  numerous  old-style  commodious  dwell- 
ings and  spacious  grounds  surrounding  them,  often  adorned 
with  large  gardens ;  and  by  public  buildings  of  various 
styles  and  dates  denoting  an  important  past  with  an  active 
present,  for  Greenfield  has  been  the  shire  town  of  Franklin 
County  since  the  creation  of  this  county  in  1811.  The 
several  historic  spots  are  suitably  marked  by  monuments, 


O 

13 


The  Massachusetts  Reach  395 

placed  through  the  efforts  of  the  Poeumtuck  Valley  Memo- 
rial Association,  an  excellent  historical  society  inspired  by 
Mr.  George  Sheldon,  the  historian  of  these  parts.  The  most 
interesting  of  them  are  in  the  "  North  Parish,"  —  the  place 
where  Captain  Turner  was  slain  on  the  retreat  in  the 
Great  Falls  Fight,  and  the  scene  of  the  massacre  of  Eunice 
Williams  on  the  direful  march  of  the  Deerfield  captives. 

Turner's  Falls,  now  a  place  of  important  manufactures, 
with  the  water-power  about  the  Indians'  great  fishing  place 
utilized  by  a  dam  and  canals,  is  a  half-hour's  trolley-car 
ride,  or  pleasanter  drive  from  Greenfield  centre.  The  falls 
lie  near  by  a  romantic  region.  The  site  of  the  Falls  Fight 
is  marked  by  a  monument  at  Riverside,  in  Gill  township. 
Montague,  south  and  east  of  the  Falls,  with  its  ambitiously 
titled  upper  village  of  Montague  City,  was  the  "  Hunting 
Hills  "  of  Sunderland  famous  the  country  round  in  colonial 
days  for  its  big  game.  When  it  became  a  district  of  Sun- 
derland, in  1754,  it  was  given  the  name  of  Captain  Wil- 
liam Montague,  the  commander  of  the  "  Mermaid  "  at  the 
taking  of  Cape  Breton.  It  dates  as  a  separate  town  from 
the  opening  of  the  Revolution.  Montague  City  was  chris- 
tened shortly  after  the  construction  of  the  canal  of  the 
Upper  Locks  company  in  1793,  with  the  fond  hope  of  the 
speedy  development  of  a  little  metropolis  here. 

Deerfield,  on  the  plain  beneath  the  Deerfield  mountain 
range,  owes  much  of  its  natural  charm  to  the  Deerfield 
River,  entering  from  the  Deerfield  valley  at  the  south  end 
and  flowing  northward,  then  eastward,  through  deep  level 
meadows  to  its  union  with  the  Connecticut.  The  historic 
features  of  the  village  all  cluster  about  the  delectable 
Deerfield  Old  Street.  On  the  central  common  where  the 
monument  stands  within  the  lines  of  the  palisaded  fort  of 
1689-1758,  are  the  marked  sites  of  the  Benoni  Stebbins 


396  Connecticut  River 

house  which,  at  the  Sack  of  1704,  that  band  of  ''  seven  men 
besides  women  and  children  "  so  valiantly  held  against  the 
assaults  of  three  hundred,  and  the  Ensign  Sheldon  house, 
the  stout  door  of  which  with  its  "  hatchet-hewn  face,"  now 
in  neighboring  Memorial  Hall,  "  still  tells  the  tale  of  that 
fateful  day."  On  the  lane  by  the  side  of  the  common, 
opening  the  ''  Old  Albany  Road,"  is  seen  Parson  Williams's 
second  house,  well  preserved,  on  the  original  minister' s-lot. 
Farther  down  is  the  ancient  burying-ground  on  the 
meadows,  with  its  graves  of  victims  of  the  Sack  and  of 
various  town  worthies. 

As  interesting,  and  more,  perhaps,  is  the  succession  of 
venerable  mansions  and  humbler  dwellings  along  Deerfield 
Old  Street  under  the  boughs  of  its  noble  elms,  each  with  a 
story  or  a  romance  to  tell.  On  a  knoll  above  the  street- 
way  is  Deerfield's  Old  Manse,  with  its  ancient  wing,  the 
latter  dating  back  to  1694  and  one  of  the  few  houses  that 
escaped  burning  in  the  Sack.  At  that  time  it  was  the 
home  of  Samuel  Carter,  his  wife,  and  their  six  children. 
Wife  and  children  were  all  seized  by  the  Indians  —  one 
child  was  killed,  the  rest  were  marched  off  with  the  cap- 
tives to  Canada.  One  was  redeemed  and  got  back  to 
Deerfield ;  two  were  afterward  known  to  have  married 
Indians.  The  mansion  dates  from  1768,  when  it  was 
built,  attached  to  the  little  old  house,  by  Joseph  Barnard, 
the  estate  then  having  been  long  in  the  Barnard  family. 
After  Joseph  the  mansion  was  occupied  by  his  son  Samuel 
for  a  score  of  years,  and  a  pretty  incident  of  Samuel's 
time  was  a  wedding  here  on  a  December  Sunday  morning, 
in  1792,  before  church  service,  when  the  three  lovely 
daughters  of  the  house,  all  "  dressed  in  sky-blue  gowns," 
were  married  to  three  gallants  of  Greenfield.  In  1807  the 
Rev.  Hosea   Hildreth,   then   preceptor   of   the   Deerfield 


"^rhe  Massachusetts  Reach  397 

Academy,  leased  the  mansion,  and  it  was  the  birthplace  of 
his  son  Richard  Hildreth,  the  historian.  It  became  the 
manse  with  its  occupation  later,  in  1807,  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Willard,  nephew  of  President  Willard  of  Harvard, 
his  alma  mater,  upon  his  coming  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
Deerfield  parish,  as  his  first  settlement.  It  remained  his 
home  for  more  than  half  a  century,  with  the  exception  of 
seven  years  spent  in  the  Old  Colony  town  of  Hingham, 
with  which  he  had  affectionate  associations,  for  there  in 
1808  he  married  his  wife,  "the  lovely  Susan  Barker,"  as 
he  recorded  in  his  diary.  Rare  distinction  was  conferred 
upon  the  manse  by  the  gracious  hospitality,  scholarship, 
and  refinement  of  the  minister  and  his  family.  Channing, 
Parkman,  the  remarkable  father  of  the  historian  Parkman, 
Emerson,  and  Holmes  were  among  the  throng  of  welcome 
guests  who  crossed  its  generous  threshold. 

Another  dwelling  that  survived  the  Sack  is  the  "  Frary 
house,"  with  the  date  of  1698  painted  on  its  chimney. 
This  was  at  one  time  a  tavern,  and  the  local  guide  makes 
note  of  its  doubtful  honor  in  having  harbored  Aaron  Burr 
for  a  night.  Of  other  old  estates  marked  by  tablets  arrest- 
ing the  visitor's  attention  is  the  Sheldon  homestead,  dating 
back  to  1708  and  handed  down  from  sire  to  son  to  the 
present  generation.  In  the  lane,  beside  the  Common,  is 
"  the  little  brown  house  on  the  Albany  Road,"  the  story  of 
which  Mr.  Sheldon  has  told  in  his  fascinating  idyl,  —  where 
long  lived  that  remarkable  genius  Epaphras  Hoyt,  scientist, 
military  expert,  antiquarian,  philosopher,  high  sheriff;  and 
his  father  before  him,  David  Hoyt,  one  of  the  Deerfield 
captives ;  where,  under  Epaphras  Hoyt's  tutorial  direction, 
his  nephew  Edward  Hitchcock,  afterward  Professor  and 
President  Hitchcock  (born  on  the  adjoining  homestead, 
son  of  Deacon  and  Mary  Hoyt  Hitchcock)  made  youthful 


398  Connecticut  River 

ventures  into  astronomy  and  other  high  learning;  and 
where  Hitchcock,  yet  a  boy,  was  inspired  to  his  fervid 
tragedy  of  1814,  The  Downfall  of  Bonaparte,  which  was 
produced  with  great  eclat  in  the  Deerfield  meeting-house, 
and  for  its  swelling  rhetoric  had  a  rare  vogue  with  young 
declaimers  in  New  England  towns.  Other  interesting 
houses  are  associated  with  artists  of  fame.  At  the  south 
end  of  Deerfield  Old  Street  is  the  J.  Wells  Champney  house, 
with  an  old-fashioned  box-bordered  front  garden,  which  was 
Champney's  principal  studio  from  the  eighteen-seventies 
through  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Farther  south,  at  "  The 
Bars,"  is  the  Fuller  homestead,  where,  in  the  spreading 
gambrel-roofed  house  embowered  in  elms  and  maples 
George  Fuller  was  born  and  lived  a  large  part  of  his  life 
and  where  his  masterpieces  were  conceived. 

Memorial  Hall,  established  in  the  old  Deerfield  Academy, 
and  a  monument  to  the  devotion  of  the  Pocumtuck  Valley 
Memorial  Association  to  thorough  and  accurate  historical 
research,  should  be  reserved  till  the  finish  of  the  round  of 
Deerfield  "  features  "  and  its  collections  leisurely  examined. 
Nor  should  the  exhibits  of  the  society  of  arts  and  crafts, 
in  which  Deerfield  particularly  excels,  be  ignored. 

South  Deerfield,  on  the  plain  west  of  Sugarloaf,  is 
called  the  commercial  end  of  the  town,  but  beyond  the 
gentle  hum  of  a  factory  or  two,  a  touch  of  animation  about 
the  bunches  of  country  stores,  and  the  sociable  piazzas  of 
the  inn  with  the  sanguinary  name,  it  appears  to  the  casual 
visitor  as  serenely  unbusied  as  Deerfield  Old  Street.  After 
a  stroll  over  the  field  of  the  "  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook," 
through  which  the  brook  glides  sluggishly  as  of  old,  a 
glance  at  the  quaint  monument  in  the  little  park,  then  at 
the  stone  slab  in  the  front  of  a  neighboring  house  that 
marks  the  grave  of  many  of  the  "  Flower  of  Essex,"  it  is  the 


CO 

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The  Massachusetts  Reach  399 

customary  thing  to  make  the  easy  ascent  of  Sugarloaf 
and  gaze  upon  the  expansive  panorama  of  winding  river 
and  valley,  meadows  and  terraces,  and  distant  hill  and 
moimtain. 

Sunderland,  on  the  east  side  of  the  River  facing  Sugar- 
loaf  and  extending  southward  to  Hadley  bounds,  and 
Whately  on  the  west  side  reaching  to  Hatfield,  are  both 
farming  towns,  both  cultivating  to  some  extent  Connecti- 
cut Valley  tobacco,  and  Sunderland  making  a  specialty  of 
onions.  Sunderland's  village  clustered  about  Sunderland 
Street,  beautifully  shaded  by  maples,  spreads  along  the 
interval  backed  by  hills  rising  northward  to  Mount  Toby, 
on  whose  ledges  are  those  "  Sunderland  parks  "  of  giant 
maples,  cascades  and  glens,  which  Charles  G.  Whiting 
depicts  with  the  touch  of  a  Thoreau.  Whately' s  village 
lies  on  upland  above  the  meadows  with  a  background  of 
hills  of  steep  and  rugged  sides.  Sunderland  dates  back  to 
1718,  when  it  was  cut  mostly  from  Hadley  and  given  its 
name  in  honor  of  Charles  Spencer,  earl  of  Sunderland. 
Whately,  in  Hatfield  bounds  till  1771,  received  the  name 
of  Governor  Hutchinson's  friend,  Thomas  Whately,  then 
under-secretary  to  Lord  Suffolk. 

Old  Hatfield  and  Hadley  opposite  are  fairly  in  the 
heart  of  the  Massachusetts  section  of  the  Connecticut 
Valley  tobacco  belt,  and  here  tobacco  farms  and  barns  are 
the  commonest  sights.  On  the  neat  Hatfield  plantations 
one  may  follow  the  art  of  tobacco  growing  and  curing 
quite  agreeably.  Most  of  these  farms  lie  on  the  fertile 
meadows  bordering  the  River.  The  prevailing  note  of  the 
Hatfield  of  to-day  is  neatness  and  thrift.  The  town  seems 
to  be  perpetually  smartened  up  to  make  its  prettiest  ap- 
pearance before  strangers.  Hatfield  Street,  the  broad  and 
beautiful    thoroughfare    along    which    the    first   settlers 


400  Connecticut  River 

planted,  and  through  which  in  those  cruel  old  Indian  days 
the  savages  so  frequently  swept  in  devastating  raids,  still 
remains  the  town's  centre.  The  present  village  is  the  "  Hat- 
field Street"  of  the  original  settlers.  Scattered  among  the 
modern  structures  on  either  side  of  the  old  thoroughfare 
are  ancient  houses  dating  back  to  "  first  days."  Here  and 
there  with  the  maples  that  line  the  Street  mingle  aged  elms. 
The  homesteads  on  the  Street,  to  which  Hatfielders  point 
with  the  fondest  pride,  are  those  that  belonged  to  the  phil- 
anthropic Smiths,  —  "Uncle  Oliver"  and  his  nephew 
Austin,  who  from  small  beginnings,  the  former  in  the 
country  store,  amassed  large  fortunes,  large  for  their  days 
which  knew  not  "  high  finance,"  and  bequeathed  them  to 
the  public  good.  Oliver  founded  the  Smith  Charities  from 
which  a  group  of  eight  Valley  towns  benefit,  and  Austin's 
fortune,  through  the  beneficence  of  his  sister  Sophia,  went  to 
the  foundation  of  Smith  Academy  in  Hatfield  for  the  equal 
training  of  both  sexes,  and  Smith  College  in  Northampton 
for  women.  Some  town  antiquary  will  identify  the  site 
of  the  house  where  lived  Colonel  Samuel  Partridge  (1645- 
1740)  the  powerful  colonial  leader  of  the  Valley  in  affairs 
of  war  and  politics,  whose  life  continued  active  almost  to 
its  end  in  his  ninety-fifth  year.  Here  too  was  the  scene, 
in  the  meeting-house,  of  the  three-day's  August  convention, 
immediately  preceding  the  "  Shays's  Rebellion  "  of  1786, 
when  fifty  towns  were  represented  and  the  formidable  list 
of  twenty-five  "  grievances  "  against  the  state  government 
was  drawn  up. 

Hadley,  on  the  meadow-bordered  peninsula  formed  by 
the  River's  great  loop  westward  and  back  again,  centres 
about  the  original  Town  Street,  now  West  Street,  stretch- 
ing from  bank  to  bank  of  the  River,  upon  which  the  first 
home-lots  fronted  and  which  became  the  scene  of  animated 


The  Massachusetts  Reach  401 

happenings  with  the  muster  of  the  yeomen  soldiery  in  the 
Indian  wars  when  Hadley  was  the  military  headquarters. 
The  mellow  old  street  is  exceptionally  broad,  and  its  road- 
ways border  a  deep  strip  of  green  or  common  in  the  middle 
embellished  with  a  double  row  of  venerable  elms.  Now  it 
wears  the  tranquil  air  of  retirement  from  a  well-spent  life. 
Old  dwellings  line  its  sides,  some  hard  weathered,  some 
interesting  examples  of  colonial  architecture,  displaying 
the  high-boy  scroll  above  the  front  door ;  the  more  modern 
houses  and  other  structures  being  for  the  most  part  on 
adjacent  streets. 

The  most  interesting  of  all  the  old  town's  landmarks, 
— the  site  of  Parson  John  Russell's  house  in  which  the 
"regicides,"  Whalley  and  Goffe,  were  secretly  harbored 
for  so  many  years,  and  beneath  which  the  ashes  of  one  if 
not  of  both  are  supposed  yet  to  lie,  —  is  now  covered  by  the 
hotel  at  the  corner  of  West  Street  and  Academy  Lane. 
Sheldon,  who  has  done  so  much  for  true  history  in  clearing 
up  the  story  of  the  regicides  here,  by  separating  fact  from 
fable,  would  have  a  suitable  memorial  erected  at  this  spot 
to  the  chivalric  minister  whom  he  justly  terms  the  "  great- 
est hero  of  Hadley."  It  is  Sheldon's  belief  that  the  ashes 
of  Whalley,  who  was  buried  under  the  kitchen  cellar  of  the 
parsonage,  still  rest  in  an  undiscovered  grave  somewhere 
beneath  the  hotel,  notwithstanding  the  circumstantial  rela- 
tion of  the  finding  of  his  bones  some  years  ago  (which 
Sheldon  believes  were  the  remains  of  an  Indian  buried 
here  years  earlier) ;  and  that  Goffe,  who,  according  to  the 
evidence  of  various  historical  writers,  died  in  Hartford  and 
was  buried  there,  really  died  in  the  Russell  house  and  was 
entombed  by  the  side  of  his  older  associate  and  father-in- 
law.  Sheldon  also  reasons  from  shreds  of  evidence,  some 
of  which  have  escaped  other  investigators  or  have  beeu 


402  Connecticut  River 

slighted,  and  which  he  pieces  together  in  an  effective 
whole,  that  Goffe  might  have  been  spirited  away  to  Hart- 
ford some  time  early  in  King  Philip's  War,  during  the 
confused  and  congested  condition  of  Hadley  when  it  was 
the  headquarters  of  troops,  and  that  he  might  have  re- 
mained concealed  there  (as  he  is  known  to  have  been  for 
an  indefinite  period)  till  his  infirmities  had  increased  and 
he  seemed  bereft  of  most  of  his  earlier  friends,  when  he 
made  his  secret  way  back  to  Hadley  to  die  under  the  shelter 
of  the  friend  who  never  failed  him  for  a  moment. 

The  meeting-house  of  Parson  Russell's  time  stood  in 
the  middle  of  the  green,  opposite  the  parsonage.  Its 
lineal  descendant  is  seen  in  the  First  Church,  of  early 
nineteenth  century  model,  on  Middle  Street.  In  near 
neighborhood  is  Hopkins  Academy,  the  successor  of  the 
grammar  school  established  by  the  town  in  or  about  1667, 
by  means  of  its  part  of  the  hind  bequeathed  for  various 
educational  purposes  by  Edward  Hopkins,  second  governor 
of  Connecticut.  The  school  became  the  academy  nearly  a 
century  ago,  and  is  reminiscent  of  the  schooldays  of  some 
famous  Hadley  boys.  Another  excellent  institution,  the 
gift  of  a  townsman,  is  the  public  library.  These  interest 
in  their  different  ways ;  but  the  aesthetic  visitor  lingers 
most  fondly  about  the  frequent  colonial  mansions  under 
the  Hadley  elms  which  give  the  ripe  town  its  distinctive 
character.  One  regrets  the  loss  by  fire  in  recent  years  of 
the  homestead  at  the  north  end  of  West  Street  which  was 
the  birthplace  of  General  Joseph  Hooker,  whose  sobriquet 
of  "  Fighting  Joe  Hooker,"  so  deprecated  by  him,  clings 
permanently  to  his  memory.  In  another  part  of  the  town, 
however,  yet  remains  the  choice  Huntington  homestead, 
"  Elm  Valley,"  birthplace  of  the  late  Bishop  Frederic  Dan 
Huntington  of  Central  New  York,  and  one  of  the  finest 


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The  Massachusetts  Reach  403 

types  in  the  Valley,  of  the  colonial  farm-seat  the  history 
of  which  reaches  back  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  with  family  records  illustrating  the  best  of  the 
old-time  New  England  life. 

This  is,  properly  speaking,  the  Porter-Phelps-Hunt- 
ington homestead.  It  occupies  a  rarely  beautiful  spot  two 
miles  north  of  old  West  Street,  in  the  north  village.  The 
original  farm  was  taken  up  and  the  house  built  by  Bishop 
Huntington's  maternal  great-grandfather.  Captain  Moses 
Porter,  in  1752,  when  there  was  no  dwelling  in  Hadley 
township  north  of  West  Street,  and  the  nearest  houses 
were  across  the  River  in  Hatfield  village.  Captain  Porter 
was  allied  to  one  of  the  families  first  settling  in  Hadley, 
and,  a  young  farmer,  had  just  married  Elizabeth  Pitkin, 
who  came  of  a  pioneer  Hartford  family,  and  whose  mother 
had  been  the  third  wife  of  Parson  Russell  of  Hadley. 
Only  three  years  afterward  Captain  Porter  went  north 
with  his  Hadley  company  in  the  French  war,  leaving  his 
young  wife  and  their  child,  a  second  Elizabeth,  alone  at 
the  homestead.  In  her  letters  to  her  husband  in  camp 
the  lonely  wife  passed  lightly  over  her  perils  on  the  isolated 
farm  when  Indians  prowled  about  the  house,  at  night  often 
"  showing  their  savage  features  at  the  windows."  Captain 
Porter  was  early  captured  and  killed  near  Lake  George. 
Upon  his  loss  the  widow  bravely  took  the  direction  of  the 
farm,  and  carried  it  on  successfully  till  Elizabeth  Porter 
had  grown  up  and  had  married  Charles  Phelps  of  an  early 
Northampton  family.  Then  began  the  Phelps  regime 
under  which  the  homestead  was  enlarged,  and  the  farm 
bounds  so  expanded  as  to  include  nearly  the  whole  of 
Mount  Warner,  where  were  great  sheep  pastures  and  rich 
woodland.  As  time  passed  on  Squire  Phelps  with  his 
growing  family  gave  distinction  to  the  place.     Dr.  Dwight 


404  Connecticut  River 

in  his  "  Travels  "  makes  especial  allusion  to  its  exceptional 
character.  Visiting  the  homestead  on  a  May  day  in  1798^ 
when  he  enjoyed  its  hospitality  at  "  tea,"  Dr.  Dwight  was 
particularly  charmed  with  the  daughter  of  the  house,  — 
a  third  Elizabeth,  then  nineteen  and  blooming,  and  upon 
his  return  to  New  Haven  he  discanted  cleverly  on  her 
virtues  to  one  of  his  favorite  yoimg  tutors.  This  was 
Dan  Huntington,  native  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut  (his 
mother  a  descendant  of  Adrian  Scrope,  alias  Throop,  one 
of  the  "  regicides  "),  a  Yale  graduate  and  an  ordained  min- 
ister, about  to  "settle"  in  Litchfield.  Six  months  after 
Dr.  Dwight's  visit  the  young  minister  preached  at  Hadley 
one  Sunday,  and  also  "  took  tea  "  at  the  Phelps  homestead. 
Then  on  New  Years'  day,  1801,  Dan  and  Elizabeth  were 
married  in  the  "  Long  Room  "  of  the  homestead,  before  a 
grand  party  of  relatives.  After  a  dozen  years  spent  in  the 
Litchfield  parsonage,  and  two  or  three  more  with  a  parish 
in  Middletown  in  the  Lower  Valley,  the  Huntingtons,  now 
with  a  quiver  full  of  younglings,  returned  to  live  perma- 
nently at  the  homestead.  So,  in  1816,  began  the  Hunt- 
ington regime.  Frederick  Dan  was  bom  in  the  ancestral 
home  in  1819,  the  eleventh  and  last  cbild  of  the  family, 
and  youngest  of  seven  sons.  The  place  as  developed  from 
Captain  Porter's  beginning  and  through  the  Huntington 
regime,  is  thus  pleasantly  sketched  in  Miss  Arria  S.  Hunt- 
ington's Under  a  Colonial  Roof  tree : 

The  house  was  originally  of  ample  size.  Its  main  structure  bore 
the  same  features  as  to-day,  except  that  the  gambrel  roof  was  added 
the  next  century.  ...  A  broad  hall  with  an  open  stairway  leading  to 
the  floor  above  divided  good  sized  rooms  on  either  hand,  a  parlor 
bedroom  and  the  "  Long  Room "  only  used  for  state  occasions. 
Another  hall  at  a  right  angle  led  to  the  little  door-yard  tilled  with 
lilacs  and  syringas.     This  south  entrance  had  its  flagged  walk,  and 


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The  Massachusetts  Reach  405 

small  gate  opening  into  a  large  space  where  carriages  drove  up. 
The  front  door,  with  its  big  brass  knocker,  was  seldom  used ;  the 
grass  grew  close  up  to  the  steps  of  the  white  porch.  In  a  wing  at 
the  rear  stood  a  huge  chimney  occupying  space  enough  for  a  small 
room,  with  great  fireplace  and  ovens.  Another  large  chimney  was 
erected  when  the  present  kitchen,  cheese-room,  &c.,  were  added.  An 
enclosed  piazza  with  seats  along  the  sides,  known  as  the  "  stoop," 
extended  along  the  whole  western  length  of  the  house.  In  harvest 
time  a  long  table  was  set  there  for  the  reapers.  All  through  the 
summer  the  churning,  washing  and  other  household  work  was  there 
carried  on.  At  nightfall  it  afforded  a  grateful  retreat  after  the  la- 
bors of  the  day.  To  those  of  later  generations  it  has  been  a  favorite 
social  gathering  place  at  that  hour.  .  .  .  Through  the  stillness  we  may 
hear  the  tread  of  horses'  hoofs  crossing  the  bridge  by  the  mill  a  mile 
away.  The  clear  notes  of  the  thrush  sound  from  the  trees  along  the 
shore. 

Over  the  threshold  of  this  ancestral  house  were  carried 
the  three  Elizabeths  in  direct  succession,  at  the  close  of 
their  long  lives,  to  their  last  resting-place  in  the  Old  Hadley 
burying-ground.  And  here  the  bishop,  whose  summer 
home  it  had  been  throughout  his  life,  died,  in  July,  1904, 
full  of  years  like  his  father  before  him,  and  was  buried 
with  his  kindred  in  the  village  graveyard. 


XXVII 

Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach 

Northampton,  the  "Meadow  City"  —  Its  Crop  of  Exceptional  Men  —  The 
Dwights  and  the  Whitneys  —  Sites  of  Jonathan  Edwards's  Home  and 
Pulpit — Scenes  of  the  Ely  Insurrection  and  of  Shays's  Rebellion  —  Smith 
College —  An  Educational  Centre  —  Mounts  Tom  and  Holyoke  —  Holyoke, 
the  "  Paper  City  "  —  Its  great  Hydraulic  Works  —  Chicopee  and  its  notable 
Manufactures  —  Springfield,  the  "  Queen  City  "  —  Beauty  of  its  Setting  — 
Its  choice  Institutions — The  United  States  Arsenal  —  Scene  of  the  over- 
throw of  Shays's  Rebellion. 

NORTHAMPTON  is  the  uppermost  city  of  the  Valley, 
yet  with  all  its  metropolitan  dignity  it  remains  the 
"  queen  village  of  the  meads  fronting  the  sunrise  and  in 
beauty  throned,"  as  when  Holland  wrote.  Citified  struc- 
tures have  indeed  replaced  many  of  the  rural  buildings  of 
the  town ;  the  Smith  College  establishment  has  developed 
to  impressive  proportions ;  and  a  municipal  theatre  has 
become  an  assured  institution  ;  nevertheless  an  exquisitely 
refined  village  atmosphere  still  pervades  the  place,  the 
municipality  sits  as  superbly  as  the  town  on  the  terraced 
banks,  and  the  great  deep  level  meadows  unspoiled  still 
fringe  the  River  coursing  through  the  lovely  vale  between 
Mounts  Holyoke  and  Tom. 

It  has  produced,  with  other  fine  things,  a  rare  crop  of 
exceptional  men.  First  in  importance  were  those  three 
remarkable  town  ministers  one  after  another,  —  Eleazar 
Mather,  Solomon  Stoddard,  and  Jonathan  Edwards.  Next, 
the  political  "  River  gods,"  the  three  men,  following  John 
Pynchon  of  Springfield  and  Samuel  Partridge  of  Hatfield, 
who  were  in  succession  the  Western  Massachusetts  leaders 

406 


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Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  407 

in  the  colony,  the  province,  and  the  state :  Colonel  John 
Stoddard,  Major  Joseph  Hawley,  a  powerful  influence 
with  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Adams  in  the  pre-revolu- 
tionary  moves,  and  Caleb  Strong,  governor  of  the  com- 
monwealth for  eleven  years,  including  the  period  of  the 
war  of  1812.  Then  there  were  the  three  Timothy  Dwights. 
The  first.  Colonel  Timothy  (born  in  Hatfield,  1694),  son 
of  Judge  Nathaniel  and  Mehitable  Dwight  (she  a  daughter 
of  Samuel  Partridge),  who,  moving  from  Hatfield  to  North- 
ampton soon  after  their  marriage,  began  the  Northampton 
line  of  Dwights ;  a  lawyer  of  "  great  respectability,"  a 
judge,  a  military  man,  and  a  squire  in  the  town.  The 
second,  Major  Timothy,  Colonel  Timothy's  son  (born  at 
Fort  Dummer,  1726,  when  his  father  was  stationed  there), 
married  in  1750  to  Mary  Edwards,  one  of  Jonathan  Edwards's 
daughters,  when  she  was  but  sixteen,  a  merchant,  civil 
officer,  judge,  and  a  tory  at  the  Revolution.  The  third, 
Doctor  Timothy,  Major  Timothy's  son  (born  in  Northamp- 
ton, 1752),  the  eldest  of  seventeen  children,  eight  of  them 
sons,  theologian,  poet,  author,  and  president  of  Yale.  Also, 
Dr  Timothy's  brother  Theodore  (born  in  1765),  one  of  the 
"  Hartford  Wits,"  secretary  of  the  Hartford  Convention  of 
1814,  and  later  its  historian.  Then  the  Whitneys,  related 
to  the  Dwights,  a  family  eminent  for  scholarship,  begin- 
ning here  with  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney  (bom  in  Westfield, 
1786),  a  merchant  and  son  of  a  merchant,  grandson  of  a 
sterling  New  England  minister,  and  on  the  maternal  side 
great-grandson  to  a  Hatfield  Dwight  —  Captain  Henry, 
brother  to  Judge  Nathaniel.  Coming  to  Northampton  at 
twenty-one  to  keep  a  country  store  as  a  branch  of  Jonathan 
Dwight  &  Sons,  his  kinsfolk,  after  eight  years'  apprentice- 
ship in  their  main  Springfield  store  he  married  first  Sarah 
Williston,    of   the   Yalley   Williston    family,   notable   in. 


408  Connecticut  River 

educational  work,  and  second,  Clarissa  James,  of  the  North- 
ampton Lymans  on  the  maternal  side,  and  had  in  all 
thirteen  children,  nine  living  to  maturity  and  remarkable 
for  varied  intellectual  attainments.  Of  Sarah  Williston 
Whitney's  offspring  were  Professor  Josiah  Dwight  Whit- 
ney (born  1819),  the  eminent  geologist  in  whose  honor  the 
highest  mountain  in  the  United  States,  outside  of  Alaska, 
is  named.  Professor  William  Dwight  Whitney  (bom  1827), 
as  eminent  as  a  philologist  and  Sanskrit  scholar,  and 
Maria  Whitney  (bom  1830)  sometime  professor  of  modern 
languages  in  Smith  College.  Of  Clarissa  James  Whitney's : 
James  L3rman  Whitney  (born  1835),  bibliographer,  and 
dean  of  American  librarians  by  virtue  of  his  forty  years' 
service  in  the  Boston  Public  Library,  and  Henry  Mitchell 
Whitney  (bom  1843),  former  professor  of  English  at  Beloit 
College,  Wisconsin.  The  head  of  the  family  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  recording  in  his  autobiography,  written  down 
in  a  family  "  Fact  Book,"  that  he  had  been  able  to  give  all 
of  his  nine  children  a  liberal  education,  although  obliged 
to  help  his  seven  brothers  and  sisters  from  the  death  of 
his  father,  when  he  was  but  twenty  years  old.  After 
twenty-six  years  of  mercantile  life  he  became  a  banker, 
cashier  for  fourteen  years  and  for  one  year  president  of 
the  Northampton  bank,  in  those  primitive  days  of  finance 
receiving  an  annual  salary  as  cashier  of  from  one  thousand 
to  twelve  himdred  dollars,  and  as  president,  six  hundred 
dollars.  His  creditable  life  closed  at  eighty-two.  The 
Whitneys,  like  the  Dwights,  were  devotedly  attached  to 
the  interests  of  Yale  College. 

Other  families  of  leading  were  the  Pomeroys,  most 
conspicuous  among  them  General  Seth  Pomeroy,  the 
"  gunsmith  of  Northampton  "  at  the  siege  of  Louisburg, 
and  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  entering  the  conflict  at 


The  Jonathan  Edwards  Ehn,  Northampton:  in  front  of  the  Whitney- 
house  on  the  site  of  the  house  of  Jonathan  Edwards. 

The  Whitney  family  grouped  about  the  tree  :  at  the  spectator's  right,  Professor 
Josiah  Dwight  Whitney,  the  geologist ;  in  front  of  him,  seated,  his  wife  ;  next  to 
him,  James  Lyman  Whitney,  the  bibliographer;  at  the  left  of  the  ladder.  Professor 
William  Dwight  Whitney,  the  philologist  ;  at  his  right,  his  wife  ;  between  them, 
Miss  Maria  Whitney,  profes>orof  modern  languages  ;  in  the  tree  above  the  ladder, 
Henry  Mitchell  Whitney,  professor  of  English  literature  ;  at  the  spectator's  left, 
Edward  Baldwin  Whitney,  son  of  William  D.  Whitney,  former  assistant  Attorney 
General  of  the  United  States. 


Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  409 

sixty-nine  with  the  ardor  of  youth ;  the  Lymans,  putting 
forth  soldiers,  lawyers,  and  judges ;  the  Ashmun  and  Bates 
families,  distinguished  by  United  States  senators.  Here 
also  George  Bancroft,  then  in  his  twenties,  and  a  school- 
master with  his  friend  Dr.  Cogswell  at  their  Round  Hill 
School  of  lofty  ideals,  began  his  "  History  "  ;  Dr.  Josiah  G. 
Holland  spent  part  of  his  youth  and  later  made  the  place 
the  scene  of  his  Kathrina ;  and  here  George  W.  Cable 
established  his  northern  home  of  "  Tarry  awhile." 

Along  the  picturesquely  irregular  streets  which  proceed 
from  the  centre  over  and  around  the  terraces  "  with  no 
very  distant  resemblance  to  the  claws  of  a  crab,"  as  Dr. 
Dwight  described  them,  is  an  unusual  number  of  old  dwell- 
ings with  histories,  and  the  sites  of  other  historic  structures. 
Naturally  the  site  of  Jonathan  Edwards's  home,  with  the 
elm,  survivor  of  the  two  which  he  planted  in  front,  is  first 
sought.  Here  is  now  the  Whitney  homestead,  built  by 
Josiah  Dwight  Whitney  in  1827-28,  in  place  of  the  then 
dilapidated  Edwards  house,  and  identified  with  the  youth 
of  his  scholarly  sons  and  daughters.  Next  south  of  the 
Edwards  house  was  the  mansion  of  Major  Timothy  Dwight, 
in  which  Dr.  Dwight  and  his  brother  and  sisters  were  bom. 
Here  Madam  Mary  Edwards  Dwight  long  reigned,  a  strong, 
almost  imperious  personality,  vigorous  of  mind,  inheriting 
much  of  her  father's  intellectual  superiority,  though  small 
of  stature,  —  in  her  young  womanhood  so  small  and  dainty 
that  Dr.  Dwight  related,  "  her  husband  (who  was  as  much 
above  the  medium  height  as  she  was  below  it)  would  some- 
times carry  her  around  the  room  on  his  open  palm  held 
out  at  arm's  length." 

The  Stoddard  house  in  which  Parson  Stoddard  lived 
through  the  greater  part  of  his  long  ministry  of  fifty-seven 
years  (1672-1729),  and  the  grander  gambrel-roofed  addi- 


410  Connecticut  River 

tion  that  his  son,  the  colonel,  subsequently  erected,  making 
the  older  house  an  ell,  are  still  to  be  seen  on  well-named 
Pleasant  Street,  in  the  "  Hinckley  place,"  but  separated, 
the  minister's  house  being  set  off  as  a  stable,  and  the  colo- 
nel's addition  embodied  in  the  present  dwelling.  Parson 
Stoddard  put  up  his  house  here  in  1684.  He  lived  first  in 
the  Mather  parsonage,  which  he  occupied  upon  his  marriage 
to  Esther  Mather,  his  predecessor's  widow.  This  house 
stood  on  the  west  corner  of  Main  and  Pleasant  Streets. 
Here  was  born  Eimice  Mather,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Parson  Williams  of  Deerfield,  and  the  "  martyr  of  the  Sack 
of  1704."  Esther  Mather-Stoddard  outlived  Parson  Stod- 
dard for  seven  years,  attaining  the  age  of  ninety-two.  He 
died  at  eighty-six,  two  years  after  his  grandson,  Jonathan 
Edwards,  had  become  his  colleague. 

The  pulpit  has  gone  with  the  old  meeting-houses  from 
which  Jonathan  Edwards  preached  for  twenty-three  years 
(1727  to  1750)  and  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fame  as  one 
of  the  great  metaphysicians  of  his  age;  from  which  he 
led  those  soul-straining  revivals  described  in  his  Narrative 
of  Sur2)rising  Conversions,  and  whence  he  was  finally  so 
ruthlessly  dismissed,  the  culmination  of  the  tremendous 
theological  controversy  over  his  change  in  the  test  for 
the  communion,  making  this  rite  the  end  rather  than 
the  means  of  conversion, — the  controversy  heightened 
doubtless  by  his  plain  speaking  from  the  pulpit  on  the 
morals  of  the  youth  of  his  congregation,  which  hit  some 
of  the  elders.  But  in  the  present  First  Church,  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  earlier  meeting-houses  on  the  same  site,  is 
seen  a  memorial  tablet  displaying  his  figure  in  relief,  and 
fittingly  inscribed,  which  was  set  up  on  the  one  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  dismissal,  a  tardy  recognition 
of  his  fame  and  worth. 


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Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  411 

The  Court  House  is  on  the  site  of  the  Court  House  of 
the  Revolutionary  period,  the  scene  of  the  first  public  stej) 
in  the  agitation  begun  in  the  closing  year  of  the  Revolution 
for  relief  from  the  burdens  of  debt  and  taxes  oppressing 
the  people,  and  culminating  four  years  later  in  the  Shays's 
Rebellion.  Northampton  also  was  the  scene  of  the  open- 
ing act  of  that  rebellion ;  and  here,  too,  after  it  was  finally 
crushed,  the  last  acts  in  the  Valley  were  performed :  the 
trial  of  a  bunch  of  the  captured  leaders,  when  six  were 
convicted  of  high  treason  and  sentenced  to  death,  and 
seven  found  guilty  of  stirring  up  sedition  were  variously 
sentenced ;  the  subsequent  pardon  of  four  of  the  six  con- 
demned to  the  gallows ;  the  issue  of  warrants  for  the 
execution  of  the  other  two ;  and  their  reprieve  as  the 
nooses  were  dangling  above  their  necks. 

To  stop  the  machinery  of  law  was  the  first  intent  of 
the  demonstrations  throughout  the  whole  period  of  these 
insurrections.  Courts  and  lawyers  were  warred  against 
because  the  former  were  used  to  enforce  the  collection  of 
debts  and  taxes,  and  the  latter  under  the  sanction  of  the 
courts  compelled  payments.  With  the  courts  stopped  it 
was  argued  that  radical  reforms  would  immediately  fol- 
low. Back  of  the  acts  of  the  mob  were  conventions  of 
delegates  from  the  people  which  proceeded  in  accordance 
with  the  prescribed  order  of  popular  assemblies,  and  for- 
mulated the  various  grievances  for  presentation  to  the 
General  Court  in  the  ordinary  way.  But  in  these  conven- 
tions demagogues  vied  with  soberer-headed  leaders  for 
control,  and  when  they  gained  it  inflamed  the  passions  of 
the  malcontents  to  violent  action.  While  many  of  the 
grievances  enumerated  were  endorsed  by  men  of  standing 
in  the  community,  and  their  efforts  were  exerted  to  secure 
relief  and  reform  through  wise  legislation,  most  of  this 


412  Connecticut  River 

class  could  only  condemn  and  resist  the  high-handed  policy 
that  would  force  these  ends  at  the  behest  of  the  mob.  In 
the  conflicts  that  ensued  there  was  much  parleying  between 
the  "  insurgents  "  and  the  representatives  of  law  and  order, 
for  neighbors,  friends,  and  acquaintances  were  arrayed  on 
either  side. 

In  the  initial  Northampton  affair,  which  occurred  in 
April,  1782,  the  "insurgents"  assumed  to  act  under  the 
authority  of  a  convention  held  in  Hatfield  the  previous 
March,  which  resolved  that  "  there  be  no  County  Court  of 
the  Sessions  of  Peace."  Their  leader,  Samuel  Ely,  of  Con- 
way, the  town  next  west  of  Deerfield,  was  an  unlicensed 
preacher,  who  "  possessed  the  spirit  and  so  far  as  his  slen- 
der abilities  would  permit,  the  arts  of  a  demagogue  in  an 
unusual  degree."  Such  was  Dr.  Dwight's  characterization 
of  him,  and  his  performances  would  seem  to  warrant  it. 
On  the  day  set  for  the  opening  of  this  court  in  Northamp- 
ton for  the  April  term,  Ely  appeared  with  a  number  of  fol- 
lowers from  various  places,  and  haranguing  a  crowd  that 
assembled  before  the  Court  House,  incited  them  against 
the  coiu*t.  Nothing  further,  however,  was  then  attempted. 
Eight  days  later  he  reappeared  with  a  larger  following. 
Armed  with  a  club,  again  before  the  Court  House,  he 
addressed  this  crowd,  closing  with  an  exhortation  to  "come 
on,  my  brave  boys,  we'll  go  to  the  woodpiles  and  get  clubs 
enough  to  knock  their  grey  wigs  off  !  "  They  "'  came  on  " 
accordingly,  and  for  some  hours  swarmed  threateningly 
about  the  Court  House;  but  a  guard  at  the  doors  barred 
the  entrance.  Ely  himself  was  early  arrested,  and,  at  once 
arraigned  before  the  court  which  he  was  attempting  to 
close,  was  bound  over  for  trial  by  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court  to  convene  at  the  same  place  in  May.  So  ended 
this  demonstration. 


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Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  413 

In  the  following  May,  when  the  Supreme  Court  had 
come  in  and  Ely's  case  was  reached,  an  armed  mob  gathered 
to  attempt  his  release  and  to  break  up  this  court.  The 
scheme  was  checked  by  the  presence  of  militiamen  held  in 
reserve.  Ely  pleaded  guilty  and,  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment for  six  months,  with  other  penalties,  was  taken  to 
Springfield  to  be  lodged  in  the  jail  there.  In  June  a  band 
of  a  hundred  or  more  "  resolute  men,"  mostly  from  the 
towns  above  Northampton,  set  out  to  free  him.  A  couple  of 
hours  after  they  had  marched  through  Northampton  "  with 
great  steadiness  and  good  order,"  fifty  Northampton  "  law 
and  order"  men  were  off  to  frustrate  the  design.  But 
before  they  reached  Springfield  the  mischief  was  done. 
The  jail  had  been  broken  open  with  axes  and  cleavers  and 
the  rescuers  were  triumphantly  returning  northward  with 
their  man.  Colonel  Elisha  Porter,  of  Hadley,  the  county 
high  sheriff,  appearing  on  the  scene,  got  out  a  force  in  piu"- 
suit.  They  were  overtaken  at  South  Hadley  and  a  blood- 
less skirmish  ensued.  Then  both  forces  encamped  for  the 
night  in  the  open.  Next  morning  the  "  insurgents  "  stole 
away  and  made  for  Amherst.  A  detachment  sent  out 
from  Hadley  caught  them  on  their  flank  and  another  and 
livelier  skirmish  took  place,  resulting  in  several  broken 
heads.  Thereupon  both  sides  came  to  parley,  when  it  was 
agreed  that  all  should  repair  peaceably  to  Northampton 
and  endeavor  there  to  adjust  matters.  Meanwhile  Ely  had 
managed  to  slip  off.  The  Northampton  conference  resulted 
in  an  arrangement  by  which  Ely  was  to  be  given  up,  and 
both  sides  were  to  unite  in  a  petition  to  the  General  Court 
for  measures  of  relief.  Since  Ely  had  fled  and  therefore 
could  not  be  delivered,  three  hostages  were  given  for  his 
return.  When  the  hostages  were  placed  in  the  town  jail 
the  tumult  broke  out  anew.     Suspicious  that  they  were 


414  Connecticut  River 

being  held  really  for  punishment  as  insurgent  leaders,  the 
mob  raised  a  clamor  for  their  release,  with  threats  to  bum 
the  town  if  the  demand  was  not  instantly  complied  with. 
That  night  the  jail  was  guarded  by  volunteers.  The  fol- 
lowing day  more  malcontents  came  in  from  neighboring 
towns.  Now  Colonel  Porter  called  out  the^osse  comitatus. 
While  they  were  gathering,  Reuben  Dickinson  of  Amherst, 
a  strong  insurgent  leader,  having  a  band  of  three  hundred 
men  at  Hatfield,  captured  a  squad  marching  down  from 
Deeriield.  Then  he  headed  toward  Northampton  and  soon 
a  messenger  brought  to  Porter  a  proposal  from  him  for 
a  conference  one  mile  above  the  town.  Porter  declined. 
He  had  invoked  aid  from  the  towns  down  the  River,  and 
two  hundred  men  were  marching  up  from  Springfield. 
Dickinson,  with  his  force  augmented,  resumed  his  march. 
At  about  dusk  he  was  before  the  town  with  his  ultimatum : 
the  release  of  the  hostages  within  half  an  hour  or  an  attack. 
Porter  refused,  but  was  ready  to  enter  into  any  "  reason- 
able agreement."  Dickinson  prepared  for  action,  when 
another  messenger  appeared  with  a  proposal  from  Porter 
for  a  meeting  between  the  lines.  This  he  accepted  and 
the  two  came  together  with  others  from  both  sides.  After 
a  conference  the  conferees  visited  the  jail.  The  hostages 
were  found  to  be  comfortably  quartered  and  quite  content. 
They  had  been  treated  fairly  they  declared,  and  earnestly 
advised  a  cessation  of  attempts  for  their  release  till  the 
conditions  of  the  bond  were  fulfilled.  This  put  a  new 
face  on  the  affair.  Their  excellent  advice  was  taken  and 
the  insurgents  withdrew. 

Thus  this  insurrection  ended  without  serious  damage 
to  either  side.  In  due  course  Ely  was  surrendered,  the 
hostages  released,  and  all  the  conditions  of  the  bond  met. 
Ely  was  taken  to  Boston  and  detained  for  some  time  as  a 


^  S 


iXi  J 


Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  415 

government  prisoner.  He  did  not  appear  again  in  the 
insurrection.  A  committee  of  the  General  Court,  with 
Samuel  Adams  at  the  head,  came  up  to  inquire  into  the  sit- 
uation, and  endeavor  to  ease  it.  At  the  November  session 
of  the  General  Court  pardon  was  granted  to  all  the  insur- 
gents, with  the  single  exception  of  Ely.  But  little  was 
accomplished  toward  redressing  the  grievances. 

The  opening  act  of  Shays's  Rebellion  was  more  success- 
ful than  the  Ely  raid.  The  demonstration  was  made  in 
August,  1786,  four  days  after  the  convention  of  fifty  towns 
at  Hatfield,  at  which  the  formidable  list  of  grievances  was 
adopted.  It  was  to  prevent  the  sitting  of  the  Court  of 
General  Sessions.  The  insurgents  —  or  "  regulators,"  as 
the  participators  in  the  Shays's  Rebellion  called  themselves 
—  were  said  to  number  fully  fifteen  hundred.  They  were 
armed  some  with  muskets,  some  with  bludgeons,  others 
with  swords.  They  paraded  "with  drums  beating  and 
fifes  playing,"  and  held  possession  of  the  Court  House  till 
midnight.  Then,  their  design  accomplished  with  ease, 
they  quietly  dispersed. 

The  scenes  were  next  shifted  to  other  parts  of  the  com- 
monwealth, those  in  the  Valley  centering  about  Spring- 
field. The  last  acts  in  Northampton  took  place  in  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1787.  The  trial  of  the  bunch  of 
captured  leaders  was  held  before  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court  sitting  in  the  meeting-house,  and  continued  through 
twelve  April  days.  The  execution  of  the  two  of  the 
six  condemned  to  death  who  were  denied  a  pardon, — 
Jason  Parmenter  of  Bernardston  and  Henry  McCullock  of 
Pelham,  —  was  first  appointed  for  the  twenty-fourth  of 
May,  and  the  gallows  were  got  ready  for  them ;  but  on  the 
twenty-third  they  were  reprieved  for  four  weeks.  On 
June  21,  the  fateful  day,  no  further  reprieve  being  looked 


416  Connecticut  River 

for  by  the  populace,  crowds  flocked  into  the  town,  some 
from  quite  distant  parts,  to  witness  the  promised  spectacle. 

First  came  the  march  of  the  prisoners  with  their  mili- 
tary guard  from  the  jail  on  Pleasant  Street  to  the  meeting- 
house, there  to  suffer  the  then  customary  infliction  of  a 
public  sermon  to  the  condemned.  Since  the  edifice  would 
hold  but  a  fraction  of  the  assemblage,  the  prisoners  and  the 
troops  were  lined  up  in  the  street  in  front  and  the  services 
were  conducted  from  one  of  the  windows.  There  was  a 
prayer  by  one  parson,  the  Rev.  Enoch  Hale  of  Westhamp- 
ton,  and  the  sermon  by  another,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baldwin  of 
Palmer.  The  preacher  s  text  was  from  Romans  vii,  21 : 
"  I  find  then  a  law  that,  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  me."  These  services  over,  the  solemn  march 
was  resumed,  and  the  procession  moved  slowly  along  the 
thronged  streets  to  Pancake  Hill,  the  soldiers  escorting 
the  high  sheriff  and  his  deputies,  and  the  prisoners  under 
a  double  guard.  At  the  foot  of  the  gallows  positions  were 
taken,  and  when  apparently  the  final  moment  had  come 
and  the  multitude  were  agape  with  expectation,  the  high 
sheriff  stepped  forward  and  produced  the  reprieve.  It  was 
a  great  disappointment  to  many  in  the  audience,  as  was 
recorded  in  more  than  one  diary  of  the  day.  However, 
the  prisoners  were  returned  to  the  jail,  and  hopes  were 
indulged  by  the  disappointed  that  the  spectacle  was  only 
postponed.  But  they  were  respited  two  times  more,  and 
finally  were  pardoned  with  the  convicted  leaders  in  other 
parts. 

The  original  buildings  of  Smith  College  occupied  the 
homesteads  of  two  judges  which  formerly  stood  side  by 
side,  with  fine  mansion-houses  set  in  gardens.  Here  the 
college,  founded  by  a  maiden  lady  with  her  fortune  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  dollars,  on  broad 


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Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  417 

and  definite  lines  of  her  own  devising,  was  begun  in  1874 
with  a  single  building  for  collegiate  purposes,  and  a  few 
comfortable  dwellings  for  students'  homes,  instead  of  the 
usual  dormitory,  grouped  about  it,  the  second  strictly 
woman's  college  then  established  in  the  country.  Now 
the  institution,  with  a  property  value  of  nearly  two  and  a 
quarter  millions,  comprises  a  cluster  of  nine  college  build- 
ings and  thirteen  dwelling-houses,  spreading  over  beautiful 
estates  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  contributing  largely 
to  its  importance.  Meeting  with  fine  competence  Miss 
Maria  Smith's  design,  as  expressed  in  her  will,  to  provide 
an  education  "  suited  to  the  mental  and  physical  wants  of 
women,"  and  equal  to  that  afforded  to  men,  '•  not  to  ren- 
der the  sex  any  the  less  feminine  but  to  develop  as  fully 
as  may  be  the  powers  of  womankind,"  Smith  continues 
admirably  to  maintain  a  foremost  position  in  her  sphere 
which  she  took  at  the  beginning.  The  youngest  of  the 
establishments  in  this  favored  educational  centre,  —  which 
includes,  within  a  radius  of  seven  miles  of  Northampton, 
Amherst  College  at  Amherst,  the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural College  at  North  Amherst,  Mount  Holyoke  College 
at  South  Hadley,  and  Williston  Seminary  at  Easthampton, 
—  Smith  ranks  with  the  highest.  Kindred  but  independ- 
ent institutions  are  the  Home  Culture  Clubs,  established 
in  handsome  and  well  equipped  houses  of  their  own,  a 
generous  and  practical  enterprise  of  Mr.  Cable  for  the 
wholesome  betterment  of  the  community.  Also  several 
free  libraries  of  excellent  standard  endowed  by  prosperous 
citizens. 

In  the  rural  section  of  the  city  called  "  Paradise  "  are 
choice  homes,  among  them  Cable's  ''  Tarryawhile  "  on  the 
banks  of  Mill  River,  the  stream  which  flows  through  the 
city  —  a  picturesque  feature  in  the  landscape,  and  upon 


418  Connecticut  River 

the  placid  waters  of  which  the  Smith  girls  row  and  paddle 
their  light  canoes.  Farther  out  on  Mill  river  is  the  district 
of  Florence,  now  a  centre  of  silk  manufacture,  which  was 
early  begun  in  the  Valley.  In  the  late  eighteen-thirties, 
when  the  wild  "'  mulberry  speculation  "  swept  through  the 
land,  with  the  accompanying  disastrous  efforts  at  silk- 
worm culture,  this  hamlet  was  one  vast  mulberry-leaf  nurs- 
ery, a  single  cultivator,  Samuel  Whitmarsh,  having  some 
five  hundred  acres  planted  with  mulberry  trees.  In  the  for- 
ties the  place  was  selected  for  the  third  attempt  in  New  Eng- 
land at  the  establishment  of  a  Fourierian  "  commimity  " 
(following  those  at  Brook  Farm  and  at  Hopedale).  It 
was  a  joint  stock  concern  under  the  title  of  the  "  North- 
ampton Association  of  Education  and  Industry";  and 
committed  to  no  creed,  its  adherents  were  facetiously 
dubbed  "  Nothingarians." 

Mounts  Tom  and  Holyoke  are  both  accessible  by  cars, 
and  afford  from  their  summits  enchanting  views.  The 
prospect  spread  out  from  Mount  Holyoke  constitutes  the 
more  extensive  panorama  over  the  rich  alluvial  Valley.  In 
it  the  observer  has  "  the  grand  and  beautiful  imited,  the  lat- 
ter, however,  greatly  predominating  "  to-day,  as  sixty  years 
ago,  when  President  Hitchcock  first  adequately  described 
it  in  his  Sketch  of  the  Scenefy  of  Massachusetts  included  in 
his  official  geological  reports.  The  changes  made  in  the 
decades  only  heighten  its  distinguished  charm.  Looking 
down  upon  the  lovely  plain  a  thousand  feet  below,  now  as 
then  the  object  that  "  most  of  all  arrests  the  attention  of 
the  man  of  taste,"  is  the  River,  winding  its  way  "majes- 
tically yet  most  beautifully."  Mount  Tom  is  now  a  public 
reservation,  and  it  is  kept  ever  fresh  in  current  literature 
by  Gerald  Stanley  Lee,  through  his  chapbook  outdoor  mag- 
azine "  devoted  to  rest  and  worship,  and  to  a  little  look-off 


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Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  419 

on  the  world."  The  tradition  of  the  naming  of  these 
heights  as  first  printed  by  Dr.  Holland  in  his  History  of 
Western  Massachusetts,  is  dismissed  by  the  later  historian 
of  Northampton,  James  Russell  Trumbull,  as  a  "  fanciful 
and  poetical  legend,"  since  he  finds  the  origin  of  "  Mount 
Tom"  in  doubt,  while  "Mount  Holyoke,"  although  evi- 
dently perpetuating  the  memory  of  the  pioneer  Elizur 
Holyoke,  of  Springfield,  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Northamp- 
ton records  before  1664.  Holland's  legend  is  so  picturesque, 
however,  that  it  will  stand  in  popular  history : 

....  Some  five  or  six  years  after  the  settlement  of  Springfield,  a 
company  of  the  planters  went  northward  to  explore  the  country. 
One  party,  headed  by  Elizur  Holyoke,  went  up  on  the  east  side  of 
the  River,  and  another,  headed  by  Rowland  Thomas,  went  up  on  the 
west  side.  The  parties  arriving  abreast  at  the  narrow  place  in  the 
River  below  Hockanum,  at  what  is  now  called  Rock  Ferry,  Holyoke 
and  Thomas  held  a  conversation  with  one  another  across  the  River, 
and  each  then  and  there  gave  his  own  name  to  the  mountain  at 
whose  feet  he  stood.  The  name  of  Holyoke  remains  uncorrupted 
and  without  abbreviation,  while  that  of  Thomas  has  been  curtailed 
to  simple  and  homely  '  Tom.' 

Amherst  and  South  Hadley  were  both  parts  of  Old  Hadley 
till  1775.  Both  are  properly  dominated  by  their  colleges: 
Amherst  on  its  commanding  hill  overlooking  lovely  views 
along  the  Valley,  and  Mount  Holyoke  College  on  its  eleva- 
tion equally  rich  in  prospects.  The  two  historic  institu- 
tions have  a  sentimental  relation :  for  Mary  Lyon,  the 
founder  of  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary,  and  a  pioneer  in  the 
higher  training  of  women,  was  a  pupil  at  Amherst  during 
its  first  years,  when  it  was  coeducational. 

In  Holyoke  on  the  west  side  of  the  River  and  Chicopee 
on  the  east  side  we  are  within  the  original  limits  of  Spring- 
field.    So  late  as  1850  what  is  now  the  "  Paper  City  "  was 


420  Connecticut  River 

a  precinct  of  rural  West  Springfield  (itself  a  part  of  Spring- 
field till  1774) ;  and  Chicopee  had  been  only  two  years  set 
off  from  Springfield  as  a  separate  municipality.  Holyoke, 
at  about  the  time  of  its  incorporation,  was  a  place  of  farms, 
one  small  cotton  mill,  and  a  few  houses,  and  was  known  as 
"  Ireland  Parish,"  a  name  suggestive  of  Irish  origin ;  which 
it  was,  for  the  first  settlement  of  this  territory  was  begun, 
prior  to  1745,  by  a  venturesome  family  of  Kileys.  Chicopee 
was  a  more  ancient  plantation,  the  hamlet  having  been 
started  within  four  years  of  Springfield's  beginning.  The 
pioneers  here  were  Henry  and  Japhet  Chapin,  two  of  the 
four  sons  of  Deacon  Samuel  Chapin,  one  of  Springfield's 
"  first  men,"  whose  effigy  appears  in  St.  Gaudens's  statue 
of  "  The  Piu*itan,"  in  Springfield.  These  Chapin  brothers 
had  numerous  offspring,  and  Holland  states  that  for  a 
long  period  almost  the  entire  population  living  in  the 
present  territory  of  Chicopee  were  their  descendants  or 
connections.  It  was  Japhet's  daughter  Hannah  who 
became  the  bride  of  young  John  Sheldon  of  Deerfield  and 
went  so  heroically  through  the  cruel  experiences  of  the 
Sack  of  1704. 

Holyoke  was  created  with  the  development  of  the 
water-power  of  Hadley  Falls  on  a  systematic  scale,  under- 
taken in  the  late  eigh teen-forties.  The  utilization  of  this 
power  had  begun  a  couple  of  decades  earlier  when  a  Hadley 
Falls  Company  erected  a  wing-dam  to  supply  power  to  a 
single  cotton-mill.  The  larger  promoters  came  in  with 
plans  fully  matured  for  the  establishment  at  once  of  an 
important  manufacturing  centre.  First  the  necessary 
lands  were  obtained  from  the  farmers  by  an  affable  and 
shrewd  agent,  who  was  careful  not  to  declare  the  real 
object  of  the  purchase ;  and  finally  a  new  Hadley  Falls 
Company,  with  Perkinses,  Lymans,  and  Dwights^  names 


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Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  421 

conspicuously  associated  with  New  England  manufacturing 
development  of  that  day,  among  the  corporators,  duly 
appeared  for  business.  The  construction  of  a  dam  complete- 
ly across  the  River  was  completed  in  the  autumn  of  1848, 
the  greatest  water-power  then  known  to  history.  On  the 
day  appointed  for  its  inaugiu-ation  throngs  gathered  on 
the  river-banks  and  the  neighboring  bluffs  to  see  the  show. 
They  witnessed  instead  a  catastrophe.  The  story  is  full 
told  in  these  despatches  telegraphed  to  the  head  office  in 
Boston : 

10  A.  M.  Gates  just  closed  ;  water  filling  behind  dam. 
12  M,  Dam  leaking  badly. 

2  P.  M.  Stones  of  bulkhead  giving  way  to  pressure. 
3.20  P.  M.  Your  old  dam's  gone. 

The  huge  mass  of  lumber,  stone,  and  earth  had  been 
wrenched  from  its  foundations,  and  rushed  pell-mell  down 
stream  on  the  great  wave,  rolling  over  and  over,  and  break- 
ing into  fragments. 

In  the  following  spring  a  second  structure  was  planned 
on  a  more  scientific  basis,  and  the  building  of  it  begun 
under  the  direction  of  a  West  Point-trained  engineer.  This 
work  proved  as  brilliant  a  success  as  the  first  a  dismal  fail- 
ure. Upon  its  completion,  in  October,  1849,  a  greater 
throng  than  on  the  previous  occasion  gathered  to  witness 
its  test ;  and  when  it  was  seen  to  withstand  the  pressure 
effectually,  and  the  water  at  full  head  "  poiu-ed  down  the 
perpendicular  face  in  an  unbroken  sheet,"  a  great  cheer 
from  six  thousand  throats  mingled  with  the  music  of  the 
fall.  With  this  achievement  Holyoke's  actual  beginning 
dates.  The  town  fuU-fledged  was  incorporated  in  March, 
1850,  and  Holyoke  was  taken  for  its  name  as  a  proper 
compliment  alike  to  the  worthy  Elizur  Holyoke  and  to  the 


422  Connecticut  River 

neighboring  mount.  By  1851  the  new  Hadley  Falls  Com- 
pany had  two  good-sized  cotton-mills  running.  Two  years 
later  the  pioneer  paper  mills  were  established.  The  fol- 
lowing year  more  and  larger  cotton  mills  were  added  to 
the  increasing  groups  of  factories.  Then  came  a  temporary 
halt  in  the  town's  progress  with  the  hard  times  of  1857, 
and  a  financial  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  Hadley  Falls 
Company.  After,  however,  that  corporation  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Holyoke  Water  Company,  composed  of  the 
same  class  of  manufacturing  developers,  a  period  of  ex- 
pansion set  in  which  has  continued  unchecked.  By  1873 
the  town  had  become  a  city.  It  is  now  the  third  in  popu- 
lation of  the  River  cities.  It  obtained  its  title  of  the 
*'  Paper  City  "  by  virtue  of  its  fine  paper-making  concerns 
which  early  outnumbered  any  other  single  class  of  manu- 
factures in  the  place. 

But  chief  of  all  the  numerous  things  interesting  in  this 
now  highly  developed  manufacturing  centre  are  the  per- 
fected hydraulic  works.  The  present  dam,  a  twentieth 
century  affair,  erected  in  1904,  is  a  splendid  construction 
of  solid  masonry.  He  who  will  have  statistics  is  told  that 
it  is  ten  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long  between  the  abut- 
ments, thirty-eight  feet  high,  fifteen  feet  thick  five  feet 
below  the  crest,  and  thuty-four  feet  wide  at  the  base. 
There  is  the  great  gate-house  under  which  springs  the 
water  that  generates  from  twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty 
thousand  horsepower ;  with  the  twelve  huge  gates  operated 
within  the  house  by  a  water-wheel.  And  finally  there  is 
the  grand  canal  system  :  the  receiving  canal,  stone-walled, 
running  from  the  bulkhead  of  the  dam  ;  the  first  or  upper 
level  canal,  extending  through  the  heart  of  the  city  for  a 
mile  and  a  quarter ;  the  second  level,  paralleling  the  first, 
then,  sweeping  around,  following  generally  the  River  bend ; 


o 
'o 


Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  423 

and  the  third  level,  carrying  its  water  to  many  mills  in  the 
south  part  of  the  city  along  the  River  bank.  The  city's 
streets  are  laid  out  in  relation  to  the  canal  system.  There 
are  public  squares,  parks  for  the  people,  and  pleasant  resi- 
dential parts  in  the  highlands. 

Chicopee  is  an  older  manufacturing  centre  than  Holyoke 
as  well  as  an  older  settlement.  When  it  was  yet  the 
Chicopee  precinct  of  Springfield  it  comprised  a  succession 
of  manufacturing  villages  along  the  Chicopee  River.  Mills 
appeared  with  the  early  utilization  of  the  power  of  the 
Chicopee  and  its  tributaries.  Iron-works,  established  at 
the  close  of  the  Revolution,  were  the  earliest  industries  at 
Chicopee  Falls,  and  to  supply  the  furnace  bog  ore  was 
taken  from  the  neighboring  river  banks.  Following  the 
iron  work  came  paper  manufacture.  The  fuller  devel- 
opment of  the  water-power  began  in  the  eighteen-twenties 
with  the  incorporation  of  a  water-power  and  manu- 
facturing company.  Then  cotton  factories  made  their 
appearance.  In  these  enterprises  were  Dwights  and  Cha- 
pins,  associated  with  other  large-minded  Springfield  and 
Boston  men.  A  little  later  a  concern  which  had  been  man- 
ufacturing edge-tools  in  the  town  of  Chelmsford  since  1791 
moved  to  Chicopee  Falls,  and  began  making  swords  for 
the  United  States  government.  This  was  the  beginning 
at  Chicopee  of  the  interesting  works  where  so  much  Ameri- 
can statuary  has  been  turned  out  in  bronze  and  where 
other  bronze  works  of  art  are  made.  In  the  eighteen- 
thirties  the  manufacture  of  bronze  cannon  was  begun  at 
these  works  ;  in  the  fifties,  machinery  for  the  Springfield 
and  Harper's  Ferry  arsenals. 

Springfield  has  long  been  celebrated  as  the  seat  of  the 
oldest  United  States  Armory,  of  highly  developed  indus- 
tries, and  of  the  Springfield  Reiniblican.     It  has  been  the 


424  Connecticut  River 

commercial  centre  of  the  Valley  in  Massachusetts  since  the 
day  of  William  Pynchon  the  founder,  and  has  steadily 
maintained  its  supremacy  as  the  metropolis  of  inland 
Massachusetts,  rivaling  Hartford  below.  It  has  been  pro- 
lific in  men  of  force  and  intellectual  capacity.  Its  charms 
as  a  city  are  its  uplands  commanding  broad  views  of  the 
superb  sweep  of  the  River  at  this  point;  wide,  shaded 
streets  ;  noble  elms  in  the  older  parts  ;  trim  lawns  ;  a  mul- 
titude of  comfortable,  home-like  dwellings ;  a  generous 
area  of  parks ;  a  happy  blending  of  town  and  country  ; 
no  dismal  tenement  blocks ;  the  blessings  of  light  and  air 
open  to  all,  and  with  them  more  of  the  conveniences  of 
city  life  than  are  to  be  found  in  most  American  cities  of 
seventy  thousand  inhabitants.  This  is  the  attractive  picture 
which  the  Repvhlican  has  drawn  in  one  of  its  descriptive 
articles.  Add  to  it  a  fringe  of  romantic  outlying  country, 
with  a  rich  historical  background,  and  the  sketch  is  indeed 
that  of  "  a  pleasant  place  in  which  to  visit  or  to  make  a 
home." 

The  city  is  built  on  what  was  a  sandy  plain  back  and 
above  the  meadows  which  bordered  the  River,  and  on  a 
series  of  terraces  terminating  in  a  plateau  two  hundred 
feet  above  the  River's  level,  and  stretching  off  for  several 
miles  to  the  eastward.  The  business  centre  is  yet  on  and 
about  the  single  long  street  of  the  original  settlement,  now 
Main  Street,  parallel  with  the  River.  The  older  residential 
parts  occupy  the  rising  ground  above  the  main  street,  on 
streets  running  parallel  with  it,  or  following  "free  and 
pleasing  curves  "  ;  and  in  other  directions  overlooking  the 
Valley.  The  once  beautiful  River  front  is  spoiled  through 
its  occupation  by  railroad  tracks  and  structures  of  unlovely 
industries.  But  all  this  is  now  to  be  reformed  through 
the  reclamation  by  the  city  of  the  whole  front,  and  its 


X 
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o 
o 


O 


Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  425 

transformation  into  a  splendid  riverside  parkway  and 
drive.  This  really  magnificent  project  involves,  among 
other  clearances,  the  shifting  of  the  railroad  tracks  across 
the  River  to  the  west  side,  and  the  building  of  great  new 
bridges. 

Four  bridges  now  span  the  River  within  the  reach  of 
two  and  a  half  miles.  Three  of  them  are  highway  bridges, 
of  which  the  most  picturesque  and  the  least  convenient  is 
the  "  Old  Toll  Bridge,"  — a  toll-bridge  in  name  only  now. 
The  others,  modern  iron  structures,  aiford  the  best  views 
up  and  down  the  River  at  present  to  be  had  at  the  water 
front.  The  "  Old  Toll  Bridge  "  is  a  successor  of  the  first 
bridge  built  in  the  Massachusetts  Reach,  which  was  erected 
in  1805  after  years  of  agitation  and  considerable  ridicule 
of  the  scheme  by  local  wiseheads.  "  Parson  Howard  talks 
like  a  fool,"  ejaculated  one  town  leader  when  the  minister 
was  advocating  it  in  1787.  "  Gentlemen,  you  might  as 
well  undertake  to  bridge  the  Atlantic,"  solemnly  declared 
another  when  the  project  was  maturing.  A  fund  to  meet 
its  cost  was  raised  by  a  lottery.  Its  completion  was  the 
occasion  of  a  great  celebration,  and  on  the  Sunday  follow- 
ing the  event  Parson  Lathrop  of  West  Springfield  preached 
a  sermon  upon  it,  the  pious  theme  of  which  was  the  "  con- 
vincing evidence"  that  the  structure  suggested  of  "the 
existence  and  government  of  a  deity,  and  also  of  the 
importance  of  civil  society  and  of  a  firm  and  steady  gov- 
ernment." 

Court  square  is  the  historical  centre.  Here  clustered 
the  meeting-house,  the  taverns,  the  court-house,  the  stocks, 
and  the  whipping-post  of  colonial  days.  And  here  was  the 
scene  of  the  later  outbreaks  in  the  YaUey  of  Shays' s  Rebel- 
lion, followed  shortly  after  by  the  "  battle  "  back  on  Armory 
Hill,  which  practically  overthrew  that  insurrection. 


426  Connecticut  River 

The  first  of  these  demonstrations,  in  September,  1786, 
was  directed  against  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  to  prevent 
its  sitting,  and  thereby  head  off  the  indictment  of  insur- 
gent leaders  by  the  grand  jury  which  reported  to  this 
court.  The  insurgents  were  now  a  little  army,  well  organ- 
ized, and  containing  many  old  soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 
Daniel  Shays  himself,  a  farmer  of  Pelham,  the  town  next 
east  of  Amherst,  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Continental 
army,  conspicuous  for  personal  bravery  at  Bunker  HiU  and 
at  Stony  Point.  The  government  men  were  prepared  for 
their  coming,  and  when  they  arrived  they  were  confronted 
by  a  military  force  in  possession  of  the  court-house,  com- 
manded by  General  William  Shepard  of  Westfield,  a  Rev- 
olutionary officer  of  excellent  record.  These  opposing 
forces  faced  each  other  for  three  days,  and  a  conflict  was 
averted  only  through  the  forbearance  of  the  leaders  on 
both  sides.  Under  General  Shepard' s  protection  the  court 
was  enabled  to  sit  through  the  three  days,  but  its  sessions 
were  merely  formal.  No  meeting  of  the  grand  jury  took 
place  and  consequently  no  indictments  issued.  So  the 
victory  was  practically  with  the  insurgents.  Meanwhile 
they  had  executed  various  "  bold  measures "  before  the 
court-house.  When  a  rumor  winged  among  them  that 
they  would  not  be  permitted  to  march  by  the  building, 
they  announced  their  intention  of  so  doing  "forthwith." 
Accordingly,  with  military  precision  and  muskets  loaded 
for  action,  they  marched  and  countermarched  directly 
beneath  the  court-house  windows ;  but  the  government 
men  declined  to  take  up  their  challenge. 

The  next  demonstration  was  in  December  and  was 
short  and  decisive.  Shays  with  other  leaders  unexpectedly 
marched  into  the  town  and,  assembling  several  hundred 
malcontents,  proceeded  to  occupy  the  court-house  and  post 


Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  427 

guards  at  the  entrances,  before  a  body  could  be  organized 
for  resistance,  thus  preventing  a  session  of  the  court  of 
common  pleas.     Their  object  effected  they  marched  off. 

The  "  battle  "  on  Armory  Hill  came  in  January.  The 
insurgent  leaders  had  determined  to  concentrate  their  forces 
at  Springfield  and  try  the  issue  with  the  capture  of  the 
Federal  arsenal.  Luke  Day,  a  West  Springfield  leader, 
had  collected  there  a  well-drilled  force  of  four  hundred 
men  ready  to  cross  the  River  on  the  ice.  At  Chicopee  was 
Eli  Parsons,  a  Berkshire  leader,  with  a  similar  force.  Shays 
was  to  march  from  the  eastward  with  the  main  army  of 
twelve  hundred  men.  Anticipating  these  movements,  Gen- 
eral Shepard  with  eleven  hundred  militiamen  had  taken 
possession  of  the  arsenal  and  had  planted  a  cannon  com- 
manding the  approaches  from  the  Boston  road,  —  the  old 
Bay  Path.  General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  chief  of  an  army 
recently  raised  by  the  state  to  quell  the  rebellion,  was 
making  a  forced  march  up  from  Worcester  over  the  snowy 
roads  with  a  body  of  infantry,  horse,  and  artillery.  Shays's 
plan  was  to  reach  Springfield  ahead  of  Lincoln  and  seize 
the  arsenal  before  Shepard  could  be  reinforced.  The  first 
part  only  of  his  programme  was  successfully  carried  out. 
When  he  had  reached  Wilbraham,  the  town  next  east  of 
Springfield,  he  despatched  a  message  to  Day  requesting  his 
cooperation  in  an  attack  on  the  next  day,  the  twenty-fifth. 
Day  wrote  that  he  would  be  ready  for  the  twenty-sixth. 
This  reply  was  intercepted  with  the  arrest  of  the  messenger 
and  went  to  Shepard  instead  of  to  Shays.  Shepard  also 
got  word  of  Shays's  movements  by  Asaph  King,  a  deputy 
sheriff,  who  brought  the  news  from  Wilbraham,  post  haste, 
pushing  on  horseback  through  the  snowdrifts  and  across 
fields,  —  the  Paul  Revere  of  this  rebellion. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  twenty-fifth.  Shays  with  his 


428  Connecticut  River 

army  was  sighted  slowly  toiling  along  the  snow-covered 
Boston  road.  At  this  time  part  of  Shepard's  troops  were 
posted  back  in  the  village,  on  the  main  street,  to  hold 
Day  in  check.  Shays' s  army  approached  in  battle  array, 
marching  in  an  open  column  by  platoons.  Shepard  sent 
out  messengers  to  ask  "  what  he  was  after."  The  reply 
came  back :  "  Barracks,  barracks,  he  would  have,  and 
stores."  Shepard  retorted  that  "  he  must  purchase  them 
dear  if  he  would  have  them."  When  within  two  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  of  the  arsenal  Shays  came  to  a  halt.  He 
was  warned  not  to  march  any  nearer  "  on  his  peril." 
At  this  the  march  was  instantly  resumed.  Shays  leading  his 
men  with  a  confident  air,  supposing  that  Day  was  cooper- 
ating from  the  west  side.  Shepard  ordered  his  artillery 
to  open  fire.  The  first  two  shots  were  aimed  to  overshoot 
them.  Still  they  pressed  on.  Then  the  fire  was  directed 
straight  through  the  centre  of  the  column,  and  they  broke 
into  the  utmost  confusion.  Shays  made  a  gallant  but  vain 
attempt  to  rally  them.  Three  lay  dead  in  the  snow  in 
the  road,  and  one  mortally  wounded.  The  proud  army 
retreated  precipitately,  not  stopping  till  Ludlow  was  reached, 
ten  miles  away.  On  the  following  day  Shays,  with  his 
force  reduced  by  two  hundred  who  had  deserted,  succeeded 
in  making  a  junction  with  Parsons  at  Chicopee.  The  next 
day  General  Lincoln  arrived  with  his  troops.  Then, 
after  only  a  brief  show  of  opposition,  all  the  insurgent 
forces  were  routed.  Fleeing  up  the  Valley  they  made 
their  hard  way  to  Amherst  and  thence  to  Shays's  home- 
town of  Pelham.  Hadley  became  Lincoln's  temporary 
headquarters.  The  crushing  of  the  rebellion  was  not  fully 
accomplished  till  some  months  later,  but  the  insurgents 
were  finally  clear  of  the  Valley.  Shays  after  his  pardon 
lived  peacefully  till  his  death  in  old  age,  his  home  latterly 


The  Springfield  Home  of  George  Bancroft. 


Cities  of  the  Massachusetts  Reach  429 

being  in  Sparta,  New  York.  It  was  the  alarm  which  this 
rebeUion  occasioned  in  the  country  at  large  that  led  Jeffer- 
son to  the  expression  of  his  theory  as  to  the  wholesome- 
ness  of  periodic  revolutions  :  "  Calculate  that  one  rebellion 
in  thirteen  states  in  the  course  of  eleven  years,  it  is  but 
one  for  each  state  in  a  century  and  a  half.  No  country 
should  be  so  long  without  one." 

The  Armory  and  Armory  Square  are  now  at  the  finish 
of  a  beautiful  walk  of  half  a  mile  up  broad  State  Street 
lined  with  magnificent  trees.  Midway  are  the  City  Li- 
brary and  the  Art  Museum,  admirable  institutions  nobly 
set ;  and  along  the  side  street  by  the  Library  grounds  are 
some  houses  interesting  from  their  literary  associations: 
notably  the  house  in  which  George  Bancroft  lived  during 
his  three  years'  residence  in  Springfield  (1835-38).  The 
arsenal  as  it  appears  to-day,  with  its  impressive  line  of 
buildings  set  back  in  handsome  grounds,  is  the  growth  of  a 
century.  It  developed  from  the  works  for  repairing  arms 
carried  on  through  the  Revolution  when  Springfield  was 
a  depot  for  military  stores. 

West  Springfield  and  Agawam,  to  which  the  bridges 
across  the  River  lead,  and  Longmeadow,  connected  by  a 
trolley  line,  are  intimately  associated  with  Springfield,  part 
of  which  they  originally  were.  They  remain  rural  towns  of 
much  beauty,  each  with  its  rich  historic  background. 


XXVIII 

The  Lower  Valley. 

Enfield  and  Suffield  at  the  Connecticut  State  Line  —  Windsor  Locks  and  Ware- 
house Point  —  Site  of  Pynchon's  Warehouse  of  1636  —  Ancient  Windsor 
to-day  and  its  Landmarks — Charms  of  the  East-Side  Windsors — A  Ro- 
mance of  the  Colony  —  Roger  Wolcott  and  his  Homestead  —  Birthplace  of 
Jonathan  Edwards  —  Timothy  Edwards  and  his  Remarkable  Family  — 
Modern  Hartford:  Yet  a  " Gallant Towne " — Its  Historic  and  Literary 
Landmarks  —  Trinity  College. 

ENFIELD  on  the  east  side  and  Suffield  on  the  west 
side,  at  the  point  where  the  River  again  narrows,  at 
the  Connecticut  state  line,  natiu-ally  mark  the  north  bound 
of  the  Lower  Valley.  Both  are  charming  in  situation  yet 
markedly  unlike  in  physical  features.  Enfield's  surface  is 
generally  level  above  the  River;  Suffield  spreads  over  a 
succession  of  broken  ridges.  Enfield  has  a  busy  manu- 
facturing centre  in  Thompsonville,  where  are  long-estab- 
lished carpet-making  works,  and  where  power-presses  and 
other  important  things  are  produced.  It  is  yet  the  abiding 
place  of  the  Enfield  Shakers,  whose  society  dates  back  to 
1788,  and  their  neat  colony  on  their  own  lands  in  the 
northeast  part  of  the  town  is  unique.  But  the  community 
is  fading  out,  and  finis  is  likely  soon  to  be  written  to  its 
history.  Suffield  remains  principally  an  agricultural  town 
much  devoted  to  tobacco  culture. 

Windsor  Locks  was  the  Pinemeadow  of  old  Windsor 
and  assumed  its  present  name  upon  the  establishment  of 
the  Enfield  Canal.  Now  it  is  a  busy  manufactiu-ing  centre, 
with  substantial  paper  mills,  silk  mills,  and  other  factories. 
Warehouse  Point,  connected  with  Windsor  Locks  by  a 

430 


The  Lower  VaUey  431 

suspension  bridge,  is  within  the  bounds  of  East  Windsor. 
The  place  of  William  Pynchon's  warehouse  of  1636  is 
fixed  by  the  local  antiquaries  as  "  probably  about  fifty 
rods  below  the  present  ferry  landing." 

In  old  Windsor  we  find  to-day  a  small  town  with  a 
great  past,  charming  in  its  maturity.  The  central  village 
preserves  the  lines  of  the  original  settlement.  The  tree- 
fringed  Palisado  Green  is  the  historical  centre.  Here  and 
in  its  neighborhood,  on  either  side  of  the  Farmington  River, 
were  the  home-lots  of  the  pioneer  settlers,  —  Roger  Ludlow, 
who  lived  in  his  Windsor  stone  house  for  five  years,  and 
then  founded  Fairfield  on  the  Soimd,  John  Warham,  the 
minister,  Henry  Wolcott,  the  magistrate  and  ancestor  of 
magistrates,  John  Mason,  the  first  captain  of  the  colony, 
and  the  rest.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Farmington  is  the  site 
of  the  Plymouth  Trading  House,  with  the  neighboring 
"  Pljrmouth  Meadow  "  still  holding  the  old  name.  About 
the  Green  remain  a  gambrel-roofed  mansion  or  two  of  the 
period,  in  the  late  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  centu- 
ries, when  Windsor  merchants  were  prosperously  engaged 
in  foreign  commerce  and  the  town  was  a  port  of  entry. 
But  Windsor's  proudest  landmark  is  the  "  Ellsworth  man- 
sion," originally  the  home  of  Chief-Justice  Oliver  Ellsworth, 
one  of  Connecticut's  two  great  revolutionary  and  constitu- 
tional statesmen.  It  is  on  the  homestead  lot  of  the  emigrant 
Josias  Ellsworth,  dating  back  to  1665,  and  is  within  the 
tract  upon  which  Francis  Stiles  attempted  to  make  a  foot- 
hold for  the  "  Lords  and  Gentlemen  "  in  1655,  when  the 
Dorchester  men  elbowed  the  ^'  Stiles  party  "  off  the  "  Great 
Meadow."  Judge  Ellsworth  occupied  this  mansion  at  the 
height  of  his  fame,  and  here,  with  his  gracious  wife,  a 
great-granddaughter  of  Henry  Wolcott,  dispensed  an  "  ele- 
gant hospitality."     Washington  and  Lafayette  were  among 


432  Connecticut  River 

his  intimate  guests.  The  spectacle  of  Washington  in  this 
family  circle  "  delighting  the  judge's  children  ...  by  sing- 
ing to  them  the  '  Darby  Ram'/'  which  Dr.  Stiles  presents 
in  a  footnote  to  his  Ancient  Windsor,  reveals  another  feature 
of  the  real  George  Washington. 

East  Windsor  and  South  Windsor,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  River,  were  included  in  the  "  Windsor  Farmes "  of 
early  colonial  times.  South  Windsor  is  especially  interest- 
ing from  its  associations  with  the  Wolcott  and  the  Edwards 
families.  Here  lived  the  greater  part  of  his  long  life  of 
eighty-nine  years  that  picturesque  character  in  Connecticut 
colonial  history,  Roger  Wolcott,  born  in  1679,  who,  "  never 
a  scholar  in  any  school  a  day  "  of  his  life,  rose  through  his 
genius  and  self-culture  to  early  distinction  in  affairs,  and 
to  such  achievements  in  belles-lettres  as  to  mark  him  for 
first  place  in  the  line  of  Everest's  Poets  of  Connecticut. 
And  here,  in  1703,  Jonathan  Edwards,  the  metaphysician, 
was  born. 

Roger  Wolcott' s  father,  Simon  Wolcott,  was  a  pioneer 
in  the  settlement  of  "Windsor  Farmes,"  moving  across 
from  old  Windsor,  in  about  1680,  to  a  domain  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Scantic  River.  He  was  the  youngest  son  of 
Henry  the  emigrant,  and  his  marriage  to  Martha  Pitkin 
was  a  romance  of  the  colony.  Martha  Pitkin  was  a  sister 
of  William  Pitkin  of  Hartford,  attorney-general  and  treas- 
urer of  the  colony.  Handsome,  accomplished,  and  twenty- 
two,  she  had  come  out  from  London  to  visit  her  brother, 
intending  to  return.  But  her  beauty  and  accomplishments 
"put  the  colony  in  commotion,"  and  it  was  resolved  that 
she  should  be  detained  through  a  suitable  marriage ;  the 
"  stock  was  too  valuable  to  be  parted  with."  So  the  wise 
heads  gravely  set  about  to  discover  the  most  suitable  young 
men  to  pay  court  to  her.     The  choice,  after  due  delibera- 


O 

H 


> 


o 
U 

< 


The  Lower  Valley  433 

tion,  fell  upon  Simon  Wolcott,  then  a  widower  (his  first 
wife,  a  girl  of  eighteen,  had  died  a  month  after  their  mar- 
riage) and  living  on  his  own  estate  in  Windsor ;  and  to  the 
joy  of  the  matchmakers  he  succeeded  in  securing  her  hand. 
They  were  married  in  1661.  The  first  fifteen  years  of  the 
married  life  of  the  London  beauty  were  passed  on  a  frontier 
farm  up  the  Farmington  River,  where  she  bore  her  husband 
eight  children.  Then  came  King  Philip's  War,  when  the 
family  were  driven  off  by  hostile  Indians  and  the  farm 
destroyed.  At  this  depressing  period,  when  they  were 
back  in  Windsor  village  to  make  a  fresh  start,  Roger,  the 
ninth  child,  was  bom.  Simon  died  seven  years  after  the 
move  to  Windsor  Farmes,  and  two  years  later  Martha 
became  the  wife  of  David  Clarke,  sometime  secretary  of 
the  colony,  and  returned  to  old  Windsor  with  her  younger 
children.  Of  her  nine  Wolcott  children  seven  lived  to 
maturity.  The  daughters  all  married  well,  and  the  sons 
became  men  of  leading,  established  at  the  "  Farmes " 
on  their  own  estates,  along  the  winding  path  which  devel- 
oped into  the  broad  tree-shaded  town ''  Street." 

Roger  Wolcott  took  up  his  permanent  residence  here 
in  1702  upon  his  marriage  to  Sarah  Drake,  his  second 
cousin.  He  was  now  twenty-three  and  had  been  in  his 
*'  own  business  "  for  three  years.  He  had  learned  to  read 
English  and  to  write  when  he  was  twelve,  and  at  fifteen 
had  begun  work  as  a  weaver's  or  clothier's  apprentice. 
Within  two  years  after  his  marriage  he  had  his  land 
cleared,  his  house  and  farm  buildings  all  up,  his  farm  run- 
ning profitably,  and  had  become  a  man  of  affairs  in  the 
community.  His  house  being  finished  in  the  year  of  the 
Sack  of  Deerfield,  that  gruesome  scene  was  depicted  among 
its  wall  "  decorations  "  — a  rude  painting  extending  above 
the  dark  wood  wainscot  of  the  "  front  room."     Panels  in 


434  Connecticut  River 

other  rooms  displayed  paintings  of  animals  and  men.  Here 
Roger  and  Sarah  Wolcott  lived  "  joyfully  together "  for 
forty-five  years,  bringing  into  the  world  a  family  of  sixteen 
children,  of  whom  thirteen  lived  full  lives,  and  making 
this  house  one  of  the  distinguished  homes  of  the  Lower 
Valley.  Starting  into  public  life  when  he  was  twenty- 
eight,  Roger  Wolcott  served  successively  as  town  select- 
man, representative  in  the  General  Court,  councillor,  county 
court  judge,  superior  court  judge,  chief  justice  on  the 
superior  bench,  and  finally  governor  of  the  colony.  He 
was  also  a  soldier  in  colonial  wars :  at  thirty-two,  in  the 
expedition  of  1711  to  Canada;  at  sixty -six  commander  of 
the  Connecticut  troops  in  the  affair  of  1745  against  Cape 
Breton ;  and  major-general,  second  in  command  of  the 
united  colonial  forces  at  the  conquest  of  Louisburg.  His 
last  years  were  spent  serenely  in  retirement,  largely  devoted 
to  literary  pursuits,  at  the  home  of  his  eldest  daughter, 
wife  of  Captain  Roger  Newberry,  in  old  Windsor.  His  nar- 
rative and  descriptive  poem  on  Connecticut  was  of  this 
period,  but  his  first  ventures  into  verse  were  of  much  earlier 
date,  his  little  book  of  Poetical  Meditations  appearing  in 
1725. 

The  "  Windsor  Farmes  "  homestead  remained  for  some 
time  after  Roger  Wolcott's  day,  a  landmark  on  the  "  Old 
Governor's  Road  "  which  led  up  from  the  landing  of  "  Wol- 
cott's Ferry"  crossing  to  the  Plymouth  Meadow.  An  old 
stone-walled  well  is  now  pointed  out  as  upon  its  site. 

The  Timothy  Edwards  house,  birthplace  of  Jonathan 
Edwards,  stood  some  distance  south  of  East  Windsor  Hill. 
It  was  an  unusually  substantial  dwelling  for  the  time  of  its 
erection,  1696-97,  having  been  built  for  Timothy  Ed- 
wards by  his  father,  a  prospering  merchant  in  Hartford. 
As  described  in  Stoughton's    Windsor  Farmes,  it  was  a 


The  Lower  Valley  435 

two-story  structure  of  fine  timber,  narrow  and  long,  with  a 
porch  and  door  in  the  middle  of  the  front.  It  occupied  a 
slight  eminence  from  which  the  land  sloped  toward  a  brook 
at  the  foot  of  a  steeper  hill,  then  crowned  with  a  forest  of 
primeval  trees.  It  was  in  the  groves  of  this  hill  that 
Jonathan,  the  boy  of  seven  or  eight,  during  a  period  of 
fervid  religious  revival,  built  his  tent  for  secret  prayer  with 
his  mates. 

Timothy  Edwards  was  in  his  way  as  remarkable  a  man 
as  his  son.  He  was  of  the  third  generation  from  William 
Edwards  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America,  settled  in 
Hartford  in  1645,  and  the  next  year  married  to  Agnes  Spen- 
cer, widow  of  William  Spencer,  an  earlier  settler.  Whether 
the  father  of  William  Edwards  was  Kichard  Edwards,  a 
London  clergyman  of  the  Established  Church  in  Elizabeth's 
time,  as  has  been  assumed,  or  a  clergyman  at  all,  is  in 
doubt.  All  that  is  definitely  known  is  that  his  mother, 
when  the  Widow  Anne  Edwards,  married  John  Cole  in 
England,  and  that  she  came  out  to  America  with  him  and 
her  son  and  step-children.  William  became  a  merchant  in 
Hartford.  He  died  before  1672,  leaving  only  a  son, 
Richard.  Richard  married  first  Elizabeth  Tuthill  of  New 
Haven.  From  her  he  was  divorced  in  1691,  when  he  mar- 
ried Mary  Talcott  of  Hartford,  a  daughter  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Talcott.  He  had  six  children  by  each  wife. 
Timothy  Edwards  was  his  eldest  son  by  Elizabeth  Tuthill, 
born  in  Hartford  in  1669.  Upon  the  cause  of  the  divorce 
of  Timothy  Edwards's  parents  light  is  thrown  in  Mr, 
Stoughton's  Windsor  Farmes.  The  branch  of  the  Tuthill 
(or  Tuttle)  family  from  which  Elizabeth  Tuthill  came  was 
erratic  to  the  degree  of  insanity : 

Mrs.  Richard  Edwards's  brother  was  found  by  the  colonial  court 
guilty  of  murdering  a  sister,  and  another  sister  was  found  guilty  of 


436  Connecticut  River 

killing  her  son.  Both  of  these  persons  would  ondoubtedly  have  been 
found  insane  by  a  committee  '  de  lunatico  inquirendo,^  but  a  plea  of 
insanity  was  little  favored  by  the  early  courts,  and  indeed  in  his 
case  was  not  urged.  The  brother  was  executed,  but  the  sister, 
through  the  confusion  arising  at  the  time  in  the  administration  of 
colonial  affairs,  escaped  the  penalty  of  the  law,  there  being  in  point 
of  fact  no  government  that  could  lawfully  execute  her,  owing  to 
trouble  growing  out  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros's  administration. 

Timothy  Edwards  displayed  none  of  the  erratic  tenden- 
cies of  his  unfortunate  mother,  whatever  they  may  have 
been.  Some  of  them,  however,  are  said  to  have  cropped 
out  in  his  youngest  daughter,  Martha,  who  married  into 
the  Tuthill  or  Tuttle,  family;  a  branch  other  than  her 
grandmother's.  She  is  said  to  have  possessed  a  "  very 
peculiar  disposition,"  and  a  "  refractory  spirit,"  and  to  have 
given  her  husband,  a  good  honest  parson,  an  "  unquiet 
life."  Ample  explanation  of  the  vigor  of  the  erratic  pecu- 
liarities occasionally  outcropping  in  the  Edwards  race,  and, 
after  their  restraint  by  the  strong  will  of  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards, renewed  in  his  son  Pierpont  and  his  grandson  Aaron 
Burr,  which  have  been  the  subject  of  ingenious  speculation 
by  numerous  writers,  Mr.  Stoughton  suggests  will  be  found 
upon  physiological  grounds  by  a  study  of  the  branch  of 
the  Tuthill  line  whose  blood  was  transmitted  to  the  Ed- 
wards line  by  the  union  of  Richard  Edwards  and  Elizabeth 
Tuthill. 

Timothy  Edwards's  pastorate  at  the  "Windsor  Farmes  " 
settlement  was  his  first  and  only  one,  and  lasted  sixty- 
three  years.  Upon  his  first  preaching  as  a  candidate  in 
1694,  he  married  Esther  Stoddard,  the  Northampton  par- 
son's daughter,  and  granddaughter  of  John  Warham, 
Windsor's  first  minister.  She  was  a  woman  of  rare  intel- 
lectual force  and  refinement  of  character.     The  parsonage 


The  Lower  Valley  437 

was  built  before  the  meeting-house,  and  within  it  the 
minister's  ordination  services,  in  1698,  were  held,  followed 
by  an  unusual  spectacle  —  an  ordination  ball.  It  remained 
the  home  of  Timothy  and  Esther  Edwards  through  his 
ministry,  ending  with  his  death  at  eighty-nine.  Esther 
Edwards  survived  him  thirteen  years,  reaching  her  ninety- 
ninth  year.  Their  children,  all  born  in  the  parsonage, 
were  eleven,  all  girls  save  Jonathan,  who  was  the  fifth 
child.  The  girls  grew  to  be  exceptionally  tall  maidens, 
each  six  feet  in  height,  which  led  their  father  to  speak  of 
them  jocularly  as  his  "  sixty  feet  of  daughters." 

In  this  rare  household  Jonathan  Edwards  developed 
early  a  prodigy  of  learning.  All  the  girls  were  well 
grounded  in  Latin,  and  several  of  them  in  Greek.  The  par- 
sonage was  an  educational  workshop,  and  the  minister  was 
a  leader  in  his  generation  in  promoting  the  higher  educa- 
tion. He  is  said  to  have  fitted  some  fifty  boys  for  Yale. 
Sometimes  the  learned  elder  daughters  assisted  him  in  the 
preparatory  school.  Jonathan  was  studying  Latin  at  eight 
years  of  age,  and  at  thirteen  was  in  Yale.  His  gradua- 
tion at  seventeen  with  the  highest  honors  testified  to  the 
thoroughness  of  the  father's  training. 

Jonathan  Edwards's  life  in  the  parsonage  practically 
closed  with  his  graduation  from  college.  He  began  to 
preach  in  his  nineteenth  year,  and  was  twenty-foiu*  when 
he  became  established  in  Northampton,  first  as  a  colleague 
of  his  Grandfather  Stoddard.  Of  his  ten  sisters  three  be- 
came ministers'  wives.  The  parsonage  remained  till  the 
early  nineteenth  century. 

Other  pleasant  old  estates  of  South  Windsor  still  in 
the  families  who  established  them,  are  those  of  the 
Stoughtons  and  the  Grants.  The  first  Stoughton  here  was 
Captain  Thomas,  son  of  Thomas,  a  leading  man  in  the  Old 


438  Connecticut  River 

Windsor  settlement.  He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Timothy 
Edwards,  having  married  Timothy's  sister  Abigail  for  his 
second  wife.  The  first  Grant  here  was  Matthew,  a  son  of 
Samuel  Grant  of  Old  Windsor,  the  ancestor  of  General  and 
President  Grant.  Down  close  to  the  East  Hartford  border 
of  South  Windsor  is  the  birthplace  of  John  Fitch,  the 
steamboat  inventor;  and  in  the  near  neighborhood  Eli 
Terry,  the  originator  of  the  cheap  "  Yankee  clock  "  indus- 
try of  Connecticut,  was  born. 

The  Windsors  now  are  centres  of  importance  in  the 
Connecticut  tobacco  "belt."  It  is  interesting  to  hear 
that  the  first  cigars  made  in  this  country  were  produced  in 
South  Windsor,  and  by  a  woman,  thus  reversing  the  custom 
of  the  original  tobacco  growers,  the  Indians,  who  held  the 
plant  too  sacred  for  their  women  to  handle.  She  was  a 
Mrs.  Prout,  a  South  Windsor  farmer's  wife.  According  to 
the  tobacco  historian  of  the  United  States  Census,  her 
enterprise  was  begun  in  1801.  Soon  other  farmers'  wives 
joined  her,  and  their  product  was  peddled  from  village  to 
village  in  wagons.  The  earliest  brands  in  the  market  and 
lingering  for  more  than  half  a  century  were  "  Long 
Nines,"  reminiscent  of  juvenile  experiences  of  old  smokers 
of  to-day  past  the  fifties.  The  "  Windsor  Particular  "  was 
also  an  early  brand.  Later  on  the  "  Clear  New  England 
Cigar  "  was  a  familiar  Connecticut  product.  The  tobacco 
now  grown  in  the  Valley  is  the  wrapper  leaf  exclusively. 

To  modern  Hartford  fittingly  applies  Samuel  Maverick's 
characterization  of  the  Hartford  of  the  mid-seventeenth 
century.  It  is  now  as  then  "  a  gallant  Towne  and  many 
rich  men  in  it."  Setting  forth  its  advantages  in  material 
things,  one  local  writer  dwells  upon  its  wealth,  "  greater 
in  proportion  to  its  inhabitants  than  any  other  city  in  the 
country."    He  apparently  overlooks  the  rich  Boston  suburb 


''|'i-'i|StS> 


The  Connecticut  State  Capitol  and  Bushnell  Park,  Hartford. 


The  Lower  Valley  439 

of  Brookline,  but  that  is  a  town,  not  a  city.  Another, 
more  engagingly,  presents  it  as  a  place  of  "  comfortable 
homes,  of  beautiful  parks,  of  lovely  drives,"  where  "  wealth, 
comfort,  and  refinement  combine  to  make  life  almost  ideal 
in  its  possibilities."  The  reasonableness  of  this  view  im- 
presses itself  upon  the  visitor  as  he  strolls  along  the  cheer- 
ful thoroughfares  and  observes  the  city's  outward  aspect ; 
the  more  so  if  it  be  his  pleasure  to  cross  the  thresholds  of 
some  of  its  comfortable  homes.  If  his  approach  be  by 
railroad,  as  he  reaches  the  street  below  the  station  his  eye 
will  at  once  be  charmed  by  an  elegant  park  directly  across 
the  way,  rising  symmetrically  to  a  height  crowned  with 
the  ornate  state  capitol.  Along  the  business  streets  and 
in  the  heart  of  the  city  he  will  note  the  interesting  blend 
of  old-time  and  modern  architecture.  He  will  find  notable 
libraries  and  literary  institutions,  with  the  intellectual 
flavor  that  attaches  to  a  college  town.  The  city's  wealth 
comes  through  its  association  with  large  and  varied  manu- 
factures, and  great  insurance  interests  centering  here.  Its 
refinement  is  an  inheritance  from  a  succession  of  cultivated 
generations. 

City  Hall  Square,  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  the  older 
streets  toward  the  River  front,  retain  generally  the  lines  of 
the  colonial  town.  Main  Street,  back  from  the  River  and 
running  parallel  with  it,  has  evolved  from  the  "  Road  from 
Sentinel  Hill  to  the  Palisades,"  the  first  town  way,  origi- 
nally finished  with  a  fort  at  either  end.  The  Square  was 
the  first  "  Meeting-House  Yard  "  or  Green,  the  centre  of 
the  colonial  town.  State  Street,  opening  from  the  east  side, 
was  the  first  "  Road  to  the  Landing  "  on  the  River.  Front 
Street,  nearer  the  River  front,  was  the  first  main  travelled 
road  connecting  Wethersfield,  Hartford,  and  Windsor. 
City  Hall  Square,  with  Main  Street  and  its  neighborhood 


440  Connecticut  River 

below  to  Park  River,  comprises  the  historic  ground.  Park 
River,  —  most  commonplace  of  names,  —  is  the  "  Little 
River,"  or  *'  The  Riveret "  of  the  first  settlers,  meandering 
through  the  city  and  emptying  into  the  Connecticut  at  the 
Dutchmen's  old  preserve  of  Dutch  Point. 

City  Hall  Square  is  of  first  interest.  On  its  east  side 
stood  the  little  meeting-house  before  which,  in  the  open  air, 
the  freemen  of  the  colony  adopted  that  first  written  consti- 
tution of  1639.  The  open  space  where  now  many  lines  of 
trolley  cars  centre,  was  the  popular  gathering-place  on  all 
public  occasions  in  colony  times.  Here  the  freemen  assem- 
bled yearly  to  elect  the  colonial  governor  and  other  public 
officers.  Here  Captain  John  Mason's  Lilliputian  army  for 
the  Pequot  War  were  lined  up,  and  thence  marched  down 
to  the  Landing  and  embarked  with  Hooker's  godspeed. 
Here  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  Connecticut  soldiers  for 
King  Philip's  War.  Here  in  1687  Andros  was  received 
with  much  show  of  courtesy,  when,  as  governor  of  New 
England,  he  came  with  his  councillors,  his  guard,  and  his 
trumpeters,  to  demand  the  colonial  charter  which  Captain 
Joseph  Wadsworth  afterward  hid  in  the  "  Charter  Oak." 
Here,  a  half-dozen  years  later,  when  Governor  Fletcher  of 
New  York  came  to  assume  command  of  the  Connecticut 
militia,  assigned  him  by  the  crown,  the  same  Captain 
Wadsworth,  with  the  Hartford  trainband  lined  up,  defied 
him,  drowned  his  proclamation  with  the  roll  of  the  drums, 
and  threatened  to  "  make  the  sun  shine  through  him  "  if 
he  further  interrupted  their  exercises.  In  after  years  here 
were  celebrated  victories  of  the  French  and  Indian  War 
and  of  the  Revolution.  The  City  Hall,  facing  the  Square, 
a  structure  of  late  eighteenth  century  architecture,  was 
originally  the  State  House.  Begun  in  1794,  it  was  two 
years  in  building,  from  slow-coming  funds  raised  in  part 


The  Lower  Valley  441 

through  a  lottery.  Its  chief  interest  lies  in  its  having  been 
the  place  where  the  Hartford  Convention  during  the  War 
of  1812  assembled. 

In  and  about  the  Square  are  also  found  landmarks  of 
early  literary  Hartford.  Here  was  the  printing  office  of 
Joel  Barlow's  weekly  gazette,  The  American  Mercury, 
begun  in  1784,  to  which  the  "Hartford  Wits,"  of  whom 
he  was  one,  contributed.  And  Barlow's  bookstore,  where 
together  with  books,  rum,  teas,  coffee,  pepper,  sugars,  and 
English  goods,  were  sold  his  Vision  of  Columbus,  first  pub- 
lished in  Hartford  in  1787,  and  his  Psalm  Book,  an  adap- 
tation of  Watts's  Version.  In  near  neighborhood  was  the 
home  of  John  Trumbull,  the  author  of  M'Fingal,  the  epic 
of  the  Revolution,  and  chief  of  the  "  Hartford  Wits,"  where 
the  club  often  met.  With  Trumbull  and  Barlow  contrib- 
uting most  to  the  club's  effusions  were  Dr.  Lemuel  Hopkins, 
the  "bludgeon  satirist";  Richard  Alsop,  of  Middletown, 
poet  of  gentler  pleasantry;  Colonel  David  Humphreys; 
Theodore  Dwight,  senior;  and  Dr.  Elihu  H.  Smith,  of 
Wethersfield.  Their  serial  political  satires,  —  Tlie  An- 
archiad,  The  Echo,  The  Political  Green  House,  —  produced 
in  the  period  immediately  following  the  Revolution,  and 
foremost  in  its  literature,  appeared  first  in  the  weekly  jour- 
nals published  here  and  in  New  Haven.  Near  the  old 
State  House  was  printed  Theodore  Dwight  senior's  Con- 
necticut Mirror,  begun  in  1809.  This  was  the  gazette 
which  afterward  John  G.  C.  Brainard,  "the  gentle  poet 
of  the  Connecticut,"  edited  through  five  years,  from  1822 
till  shortly  before  his  death  at  only  thirty-two.  Slighting 
its  politics,  he  gave  it  a  distinct  literary  flavor  with  his 
own  writings.  On  Main  Street,  a  little  north  of  the  Square, 
was  the  office  of  the  Neiv  England  Review,  which  the  poet 
George  D.  Prentice  first  edited,  and  after  him  John  G. 


442  Connecticut  River 

Whittier,  whom  he  most  generously  introduced  to  its 
readers.  Prentice  was  Connecticut  born,  versatile,  pol- 
ished, debonair,  his  fame  afterward  blooming  in  Kentucky 
in  his  Louisville  Journal.  Whittier  came  to  his  editorial 
chair  at  twenty-two  in  Quaker  homespun  fresh  from  the 
Amesbury  farm.  With  many  associates,Whittier  made  last- 
ing friendships  during  the  less  than  two  years  of  his  Hart- 
ford life, —  between  1830  and  1832.  Of  his  circle  was 
Frederick  A.  P.  Barnard,  then  a  young  instructor  in  the 
Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  whom,  when  president 
of  Columbia  a  half-century  after,  Whittier  recalled  in  his 
dedication  of  Miriam : 

"  The  years  are  many  since,  in  youth  and  hope, 
Under  the  Charter  Oak,  our  horoscope 
We  drew  thick-studded  with  all  favoring  stars. 
Now  with  gray  beards,  and  faces  seamed  with  scars 
From  life's  hard  battle,  meeting  once  again 
We  smile,  half  sadly,  over  dreams  so  vain." 

Another  was  Lydia  Huntley  Sigourney,  that  most  volum- 
inous of  early  American  women  writers,  then  at  the  height  of 
her  popularity,  whose  verses  and  "  moral  pieces,"  eventually 
filling  more  than  sixty  volumes,  were  produced  before  the 
acceptance  of  women  to  full  fellowship  in  art  and  letters. 
This  is  the  keynote  of  the  lines  which  Whittier  wrote  after 
her  death  in  1865  for  the  tablet  placed  by  her  pew  in 
Christ  Church,  on  upper  Main  Street : 

"  She  sang  alone,  ere  womanhood  had  known 
The  gift  of  song  which  fills  the  air  to-day ; 
Tender  and  sweet,  a  music  all  her  own 
May  fitly  linger  where  she  knelt  to  pray." 

Unlike  Brainard,  Whittier  proved  an  active  and  indus- 
trious political  as  well  as  literary  editor,  for  he  was  a  born 


Old  State  House,    Hartford,    now  City  Hall. 
Place  of  the  sitting  of  the  Hartford  Convention  during  the  War  of  1812. 


The  Lower  Valley  443 

politician.  Forty-two  of  his  poems  first  appeared  in  the 
Revieio.  Of  the  existing  newspapers,  the  Times  is  reminis- 
cent of  Gideon  Welles,  who  for  the  first  thirty  years  of  his 
long,  active  life  was  associated  with  it  as  its  principal 
political  writer.  Welles  was  a  native  of  the  Valley,  born 
in  Glastonbury  in  1802,  and  was  in  direct  line  from  the 
colonial  governor,  Thomas  Welles.  The  Courant  is  most 
pleasantly  associated  with  Charles  Dudley  Warner,  whose 
connection  with  it,  in  the  ideal  dual  capacity  of  proprie- 
tor and  editor,  covered  almost  the  whole  period  of  his 
essays  in  literature. 

Below  the  Square  historical  landmarks  thicken.  On 
the  east  side  of  Main  Street  the  site  of  "Zachary  Sanford's 
Tavern,"  where  the  affair  of  the  charter  in  1687  was 
enacted  during  the  night  session  of  Andros  debating  his 
demand  with  the  Assembly,  is  covered  by  a  church.  The 
place  where  the  Charter  Oak  stood,  on  the  Governor 
Wyllys  homestead  lot,  is  seen  on  Charter  Oak  Place,  east 
of  Main  Street,  marked  by  a  tablet.  The  tree  survived 
till  1856,  when  its  venerable  trunk  was  prostrated  in  an 
August  gale.  It  is  said  to  have  measured  twenty-one  feet 
in  circumference  at  a  height  of  seven  feet  from  the  ground ; 
and  honest  Hartfordians  aver  that  twenty-one  persons 
could  stand  together  in  its  great  hollow.  The  charter 
remains,  a  precious  document.  The  "  historical  duplicate," 
as  the  term  is,  for  there  were  two  copies,  may  be  seen 
in  the  State  Library  in  the  capitol,  enclosed  in  a  carved 
frame,  part  of  which  is  of  wood  of  the  tree.  The  "  his- 
torical original  copy,"  with  the  original  "  charter  box," 
is  in  the  Wadsworth  Athenaeum,  a  possession  of  the  Con- 
necticut Historical  Society.  The  wood  of  the  oak  is 
preserved  in  countless  small  articles,  and  a  few  large  ones. 
Captain   Wadsworth,    despite    his    valiant     acts,    seems 


444  Connecticut  River 

afterward  to  have  occasionally  fallen  under  discipline,  for 
it  is  recorded  that  in  1706  he  was  fined  five  shillings  for 
"hot  headed  remarks  in  court  and  hasty  reflections  on 
the  judges." 

The  castellated  front  of  the  Wadsworth  Athenaeum 
occupies  the  site  of  a  famous  Hartford  house.  This  was 
the  Colonel  Jeremiah  Wadsworth  mansion,  where  Wash- 
ington and  Rochambeau  had  their  first  conference  in 
September,  1780.  The  Athenaeum  was  founded  through 
the  liberality  of  Colonel  Jeremiah's  son,  Daniel  Wadsworth. 
Established  more  than  sixty  years  ago  (1842),  its  scope 
has  expanded  to  embrace  the  chief  literary  institutions  of 
the  city.  Here,  now  under  one  roof,  are  gathered  the 
Library  and  Collections  of  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society  (founded  in  1825),  the  Watkinson  Library  of 
Reference,  the  Hartford  Public  Library ;  the  Hartford  Art 
Gallery  and  Art  Society  School )  and  a  Bird  Collection  of 
the  Hartford  Scientific  Society.  The  library  of  the  His- 
torical Society  ranks  with  the  best  in  New  England  in 
early  American  history,  and  is  the  depository  of  many 
valuable  manuscripts  of  historical  material;  while  the 
cabinets  are  rich  in  objects  illustrative  of  American  history 
and  prehistoric  archaeology.  The  Watkinson  Library 
admirably  supplements  the  Historical  Library.  It  was 
founded  by  David  Watkinson,  a  successful  merchant,  and 
an  active  member  of  the  Historical  Society,  who  died  in 
1857  leaving  liberal  bequests  to  these  institutions.  The 
rooms  which  they  occupy  have  a  delightful  bookish  atmos- 
phere. On  the  green  in  front  of  the  Athenaeum  the 
statue  of  Nathan  Hale,  the  young  and  comely  American 
spy,  whose  last  words  of  regret  that  he  had  but  one  life  to 
give  to  his  country  are  familiar,  or  ought  to  be,  to  every 
schoolboy,  deserves  a  passing  glance. 


o 


u 


The  Lower  Valley  445 

The  old  Centre  Church,  nearly  opposite  the  Athenaeum, 
is  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  first  meeting-house.  It 
dates  from  1807,  and  in  its  interior  design  as  well  as  its 
faQade  preserves  the  architecture  of  its  day.  Back  of  this 
meeting-house  is  the  burying-ground  of  colonial  times  in 
which  are  the  graves  of  Hooker,  and  of  other  governors, 
and  a  plain  central  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  first 
settlers.  The  site  of  Hooker's  house  is  on  Arch  Street, 
below  the  Athenaeum. 

In  Bushnell  Park,  with  its  crowning  State  Capitol,  is 
the  city's  show  of  out-door  art.  Observe  that  this  park  of 
beautifully  undulating  territory,  the  central  feature  of  a 
system  of  parks  of  unusual  extent  and  variety  for  a  city 
of  Hartford's  proportions,  is  in  large  part  reclaimed  from 
an  unsightly  waste,  edged  with  dismal,  unsavory  buildings. 
Its  creation  and  development,  with  its  setting  of  to-day, 
are  due  to  the  foresight  and  perseverance  of  Horace  Bush- 
nell, the  great  preacher  and  great  citizen  of  Hartford,  for 
whom  it  was  named  when  he  died  in  1876;  and  it  stands 
a  very  useful  memorial  of  his  quickening  influences  in 
civic  matters  through  his  forty  years  of  lofty  citizenship 
here.  The  work  of  the  landscape  architect  here  displayed 
is  as  worthy  as  that  of  the  sculptor. 

The  capitol  occupies  the  original  site  of  Trinity  College 
which  was  removed  to  make  way  for  it.  Trinity's  present 
seat  is  on  as  sightly  a  ridge  about  a  mile  distant.  Here 
its  range  of  buildings,  of  a  refined  architecture,  occupy 
the  side  of  a  beautiful  green.  It  is  almost  forgotten  now 
that  Trinity  began  as  Washington  College,  which  grew  out 
of  warm  religious  antagonisms  and  local  rivalries  when 
Connecticut  had  two  capitals.  When  in  1823  the  charter 
for  the  coUege  was  granted,  Hartford  celebrated  the  event 
with  bell-ringing,  cannon-firing,  and  bonfires,  for  it  saw  in 


446  Connecticut  River 

the  project  a  rival  to  Yale.  By  a  prompt  and  generous 
subscription  to  its  endowment  fund  Hartford  secured  the 
establishment  of  the  institution  from  other  competitors  for 
it,  and  the  new  Washington  College  was  duly  set  up  as  "a, 
tower  "  of  defence  for  the  Episcopal  Church  then  centered 
here,  against  "the  inroads  of  New  Haven  heresy."  It  be- 
came Trinity  College  in  1845,  upon  petition  of  the  alumni. 
All  the  antagonisms  and  rivalries  long  ago  vanished.  As 
President  Hadley  of  Yale  remarked  at  the  installation  of 
President  Luther  in  1904  :  "  We  breathe  to-day  an  atmos- 
phere which  helps  toward  breadth  of  view  and  largeness  of 
tolerance  ;  which  makes  us  seek  for  points  of  contact  and 
cooperation  instead  of  for  points  of  divergence  and  antag- 
onism." The  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Congregation- 
alists,  founded  a  decade  after  Trinity,  remains  in  the  heart 
of  the  city. 

The  walk  from  Bushnell  Park  westward  up  Asylum 
Hill  and  along  Farmington  Avenue,  beautified  its  length 
by  handsome  trees,  is  a  favorite  with  many  visitors  on  ac- 
count of  the  association  of  this  attractive  part  with  the 
latter-day  Hartford  hterary  group,  notably  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe,  Warner,  and  Clemens,  who  dwelt  for  some  years  in 
close  neighborhood  here.  The  Warner  and  Clemens  places, 
on  the  avenue,  are  easily  recognized  from  the  frequent 
published  descriptions  of  them,  —  the  Warner  house  in  a 
frame  of  woodland,  the  "  Mark  Twain  "  house  on  a  knoll 
backed  by  an  oak  grove ;  and  the  path  between  the  estates 
worn  by  the  two  constant  friends.  The  Stowe  place  also 
adjoined  "  Mark  Twain's,"  on  the  farther  side,  facing 
Forest  Street.  Out  of  Forest  Street  was  the  "  rambling 
Gothic  cottage  "  of  Isabella  Beecher  Hooker  which  Clemens 
first  occupied  when  he  came  to  live  in  Hartford  in  1871. 
Opposite  was  Warner's  earlier  home,  the  "  little  red-brick 


Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Memorial  Arch,  Hartford. 


The  Lower  Valley  447 

cottage  embowered   in  green/'  associated   with   his   My 
Simime?'  in  a  Garden,  and  Backlog  Studies. 

Beyond  and  westward  lies  picturesque  West  Hartford, 
backed  by  the  Talcott  mountains,  where  the  neat  culture 
of  market  gardens  is  the  chief  industry.  Across  the  River 
East  Hartford  is  given  more  largely  to  tobacco-growing. 


XXIX 

Hartford  to  the  Sea 

Down  the  River  by  Steamboat  —  Old  Dutch  Point  —  Wethersfield  back  from 
the  Meadows  —  The  Glastonburys  —  Rocky  Hill  and  Cromwell  —  Port- 
land and  Middletown  at  the  Great  Bend  —  The  College  City  —  WesleyQin 
University  and  Berkeley  Divinity  School — John  Fiske  in  Middletown  — 
The  Straits  —  The  Chatham  Hills  —  Historic  Mines  —  "The  Governor's 
Gold  Ring"  —  The  Lymes  and  the  Haddams  —  The  Field  Family  — 
Brainard  the  Missionary  to  the  Indians  —  Essex  —  At  the  River's  Mouth. 

THE  steamboats  of  the  "  Hartford  Line,"  for  lower-river 
landings  and  by  the  Sound  to  New  York,  sail  from 
the  site  of  the  ancient  Landing  in  Hartford,  at  the  foot  of 
State  Street.  On  the  way  to  the  pier  one  will  observe  a 
few  old  warehouses  suggestive  of  the  West  India  trade  of 
ships  that  have  passed.  But  he  must  imagine  the  old 
wharves  lined  with  vessels,  "  often  three  or  four  deep," 
when  Hartford  was  the  head  of  sloop  navigation ;  the 
heaps  of  hogsheads  of  sugar,  rum,  and  molasses  covering 
them ;  the  fleet  of  flatboats  loading  for  the  up-river  voyage. 
Quiet  now  pervades  the  River  front.  Occasionally  a  fussy 
tow-boat  or  a  string  of  slow-moving  freight  barges  ruffles 
the  river  surface.  A  low-cut  pleasure  steamer  for  excur- 
sions may  enliven  the  scene ;  and  gayety  is  added  by  trim 
naphtha  launches.  The  Sound  steamboat  appears  quite  a 
leviathan  among  this  river-craft.  She  glides  off  from  her 
dock  in  the  late  afternoon  with  a  gentle  movement  as  if 
reluctant  to  disturb  the  prevailing  serenity,  and  as  gently 
proceeds  on  the  down-river  course. 

From  the  vantage  of  the  upper  deck  the  eye  takes  in 

448 


-a 


Hartford  to  the  Sea  449 

both  sides  of  the  River  as  the  steamer  placidly  drops  down 
stream.  Old  Dutch  Point  appears  occupied  by  the  yard 
and  ways  of  the  transportation  company  which  operates 
the  Hartford  Line  ;  and  where  meadows  were  are  the 
works  of  the  great  Colt  manufactory  of  fire-arms  and  mur- 
derous guns.  Leaving  the  city  behind,  the  passage  soon 
winds  between  low  green  banks  with  spreading  meadows 
backed  by  highland.  The  steamer  feels  her  way  cautiously 
along  the  narrow  channel,  and  approaches  the  long  bend 
from  Wethersfield  Cove,  on  the  west  side,  in  Wethersfield, 
and  Keeney's  Cove,  on  the  east  side,  in  Glastonbury,  which 
occupy  portions  of  the  old  bed  of  the  River  in  colonial 
times. 

The  Wethersfield  Landing  is  one  of  the  oldest  on  the 
River.  The  old  town  lies  back  from  the  meadows,  a  small 
community  now,  engaged  somewhat  in  manufactures  and 
more  in  agriculture.  Its  tranquil  elm-shaded  streets,  broad 
greens,  and  numerous  old  houses  of  colonial  types  are  its 
features  that  most  charm  to-day.  Visitors  a  century  and 
more  ago  were  particularly  impressed  with  its  culture 
of  the  onion.  Brissot  de  Warville  in  his  Keio  Travels  in 
the  United  States  of  America  Performed  in  1788,  Kendall 
in  his  Travels  through  the  Northwestern  Parts  of  the  United 
States  in  the  Years  1807  and  1808,  and  others,  made  note 
of  the  vast  fields  in  Wethersfield  uniformly  covered  with 
this  pungent  bulb,  and  cultivated  almost  entirely  by  women 
and  girls.  Kendall  remarked  that  ''Wethersfield  has  a 
church  built  of  brick,  and  strangers  are  facetiously  told  that 
it  was  built  with  '  onions.'  On  explanation  it  is  said 
that  it  was  built  at  the  cost  of  the  female  part  of  the  com- 
munity, and  out  of  the  profits  of  their  agricultiu'e."  Their 
labor  was  easy  and  was  performed  with  feminine  nicety. 
For,  as  Kendall  further  observed,  "the  fair  onion-growers 


450  Connecticut  River 

•unite  with  their  industry  a  laudable  care  of  their  beauty ; 
...  in  the  field  their  dress,  which  is  contrived  for  protect- 
ing them  from  the  sun,  often  disguises  every  lineament  of 
the  figure."  De  Warville  bore  similar  testimony,  and 
remarked  with  true  Gallic  gallantry :  "  New  Haven  yields 
not  to  Wethersfield  for  the  beauty  of  the  fair  sex.  At 
their  balls  during  the  winter  it  is  not  rare  to  see  an  hund- 
red charming  girls  adorned  with  those  brilliant  complexions 
seldom  met  with  in  joumeyings  to  the  South,  and  dressed 
in  elegant  simplicity."  And  the  mischievous  Peters,  in  his 
romancing  "history"  of  Connecticut,  in  1781  wrote,  "It 
is  the  rule  with  [Wethersfield]  parents  to  buy  annually  a 
silk  gown  for  each  daughter  above  the  age  of  seven  till  she  is 
married.  The  young  beauty  is  obliged  in  return  to  weed 
a  patch  of  onions  with  her  own  hand."  The  culture  of 
the  onion  continues,  but  tobacco,  leeks,  and  garden  seeds 
now  contend  with  it  for  supremacy  in  the  products  of  the 
Wethersfield  farms.  Of  the  colonial  mansions  still  remain- 
ing, chief  in  interest  are  the  "  Webb  "  and  the  "  Deane  " 
houses.  The  former  was  "Hospitality  Hall,"  where  met 
the  military  council  of  May,  1781,  when  Washington 
"  fixed  "  with  Rochambeau  their  plan  of  campaign.  The 
assembling  of  the  important  personages  that  comprised 
the  council,  —  Washington,  Rochambeau,  Generals  Knox, 
Duportail,  and  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux,  Jonathan  Trum- 
bull, Colonel  Jeremiah  Wadsworth  of  Hartford,  and  Colonel 
Samuel  B.  Webb  of  Wethersfield  and  a  member  of  Wash- 
ington's personal  staff,  —  was  a  great  social  as  well  as 
military  event  in  Wethersfield.  The  sittings  took  place 
in  the  large  parlor  of  this  mansion.  The  host  of  "  Hospi- 
tality Hall"  was  then  Joseph  Webb,  Colonel  Samuel's 
elder  brother.  The  mansion  was  built  by  their  father, 
Joseph  Webb,  a  prosperous  young  merchant,  in  1752  or 


Wesleyan  University — "  College  Row. 


Hartford  to  the  Sea  451 

1753.  He  died  a  few  years  later,  at  only  thirty-five,  and 
his  widow  married  Silas  Deane.  Four  years  after  the  lady 
died,  whereupon  Deane  took  a  second  wife,  a  granddaughter 
of  Governor  Gurdon  Saltonstall.  Then  the  "  Deane  house," 
which  Deane  had  previously  erected  adjoining  the  Webb 
place,  began  its  hospitable  career.  Here  Deane  was  living 
in  affluence  when  he  entered  public  life.  How  he  became 
a  confidant  of  Washington  and  was  sent  out  as  secret 
diplomatist  and  commercial  agent  to  France  is  familiar 
history.  At  that  time  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  men  in 
the  Revolutionary  cause.  Subsequently  came  his  trouble 
and  contentions  with  Arthur  Lee,  his  losses  through  his 
ill  treatment  by  Congress,  and  finally  his  melancholy  death 
abroad,  "  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  America."  Washington 
was  a  guest  at  the  Deane  house  in  June,  1775,  when  on 
his  way,  with  General  Charles  Lee,  to  take  command  of 
the  army  at  Cambridge.  In  the  Revolution  Wethersfield 
vessels  engaged  in  privateering,  and  one  of  the  earliest 
privateers  in  commission  was  a  brigantine  built  here  and 
sent  out  by  Silas  Deane's  brother,  Barnabas.  She  carried 
a  battery  of  eight  guns  and  a  crew  of  forty-four  men. 

At  the  end  of  the  long  bend  the  steamer  makes  the 
Glastonbury  Landing.  This  old  town,  dating  from  1680, 
and  taken  from  Wethersfield' s  territory,  lies  back  from  the 
River  with  a  fringe  of  hills.  Several  of  the  estates  along 
"  The  Street,"  lined  by  noble  trees  planted  before  the 
Revolution,  are  held  by  lineal  descendants  of  the  first  set- 
tlers. The  founders  coming  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Glastonbury  in  England  gave  the  place  their  old  home 
name.  It  is  a  town  now  of  varied  manufacturing  interests, 
with  tobacco  the  chief  agricultural  staple.  The  manufac- 
tories utilize  the  water-power  of  several  brooks  that  course 
through  the  town,  contributing  to  its  scenic  attractions. 


452  Connecticut  River 

South  Glastonbury,  the  next  landing,  at  the  end  of  another 
bend  of  the  River,  is  as  fair  as  the  upper  village.  Here 
Roaring  Brook,  most  picturesque  of  the  town's  streams, 
empties  into  the  River.  Once  the  Glastonburys  were  ship- 
building places,  and  had  their  part  in  the  West  India  trade. 
An  old-time  ferry  connects  South  Glastonbury  with  Rocky 
Hill  on  the  west  side,  which  also  was  originally  a  part  of 
Wethersfield. 

From  the  Glastonburys  and  Rocky  Hill  the  steamboat 
follows  the  River's  graceful  windings  between  green  banks, 
in  a  charming  region,  with  the  townships  of  Cromwell  on 
the  west  side,  and  Chatham  and  Portland  on  the  east. 
Then  the  broad  sweep  is  made  to  the  Portland  Landing, 
and  to  Middletown  opposite,  at  the  upper  turn  of  the  Great 
Bend.  Below  Rocky  Hill  the  banks  become  more  perma- 
nent in  appearance,  showing  less  of  the  river's  wash  than 
above.  Cromwell  has  the  hills  from  which  brown  stone  is 
quarried.  Portland  is  the  quarrying  place  particularly  of 
freestone.  From  the  hills  here  freestone  has  been  taken 
out  since  early  colony  days.  The  first  quarry  was  opened 
on  the  water's  edge  where  the  stone  rose  high  and  hung 
shelving  over  the  River.  Portland  was  then  a  part  of  the 
territory  of  Middletown,  as  were.  Chatham  (from  which 
Portland  was  taken)  and  Cromwell.  Once  shipbuilding 
was  a  gallant  industry  here  as  well  as  quarrying.  During 
the  Revolution  and  the  War  of  1812,  the  Portland  or 
Chatham  shipbuilders  launched  some  fine  frigates  and  pri- 
vateers. Later  they  turned  out  packets.  The  first  packet 
to  sail  from  New  York  for  Texas  was  built  here  in  1836. 
Afterward  all  the  packets  of  the  New  York  and  Galveston 
line,  begun  in  1847,  came  out  of  Portland  shipyards. 

As  the  steamer  draws  up  to  the  Middletown  Landing 
the  little  city  rises  pleasantly  to  view  in  the  twilight. 


o  vd 


o  ^ 


C     lu 
"in 


Hartford  to  the  Sea  453 

Beauty  of  situation  is  but  one  of  the  charms  of  Middle- 
town.  John  Fiske's  delineation  of  a  decade  ago  holds  good 
to-day.  "  In  the  very  aspect  of  these  broad,  quiet  streets 
with  their  arching  trees,  their  dignified  and  hospitable, 
sometimes  quaint  households,  we  see  the  sweet  domesticity 
of  the  old  New  England  unimpaired."  In  the  social  life 
of  the  place,  as  he  says,  there  has  always  remained  "  some- 
thing of  the  courtliness  and  quiet  refinement  that  marked 
the  days  of  spinning-wheels  and  knee-buckles."  Much  of 
this  has  been  due  to  its  institutions  of  learning,  "  much 
also  to  the  preservation  of  old  traditions  and  mental  habits 
through  sundry  strong  personalities  the  saving  remnant  of 
which  the  prophet  speaks."  If  the  visitor  on  a  radiant 
summer  morning  ascends  by  gently  rising  cross-streets 
from  Main  Street  parallel  with  the  River,  to  High  Street 
on  the  terrace  a  hundred  and  sixty  feet  above,  and  bends 
his  gaze  riverward,  an  enchanting  landscape  opens  to  his 
view.  An  amphitheatre  of  rare  natural  beauty  spreads 
out  before  and  around  him.  The  River  with  its  graceful 
bend,  and  broadening  in  front  of  the  city  to  perhaps  half 
a  mile,  appears  a  silvery  stream  sweeping  eastward,  and 
presently  in  a  narrowing  course,  framed  in  delectable  hills. 
And  if  later  one  drives  northward  from  the  city's  centre 
up  the  Valley,  the  spectacle  which  John  Fiske  has  so 
felicitously  pictured  may  be  enjoyed : 

"  About  eight  miles  north  of  Middletown  as  the  crow  flies,  there 
stands  an  old  house  of  entertainment  known  as  Shipman's  Tavern, 
in  bygone  days  a  favorite  resort  of  merry  sleighing  parties,  and 
famous  for  its  fragrant  mugs  of  steaming  flip.  It  is  now  a  lonely 
place ;  but  if  you  go  behind  it  into  the  orchard  and  toil  up  a  hill- 
side among  the  gnarled  fantastic  apple-trees,  a  grade  so  steep  that 
it  almost  invites  one  to  all  fours,  you  suddenly  come  upon  a  scene  so 
rare  that  when  beheld  for  the  twentieth  time  it  excites  surprise .  I 
have  seen  few  sights  more  entrancing.     The  land  falls  abruptly  away 


454  Connecticut  River 

in  a  perpendicular  precipice,  while  far  below  the  beautiful  River 
flows  placidly  through  long  stretches  of  smiling  meadows  such  as 
Virgil  and  Dante  might  have  chosen  for  the  Elysian  fields." 

Early  Middletown  comprised  two  hamlets  separated  by 
wide  stretches  of  meadows  and  designated  respectively  the 
"  Lower  Houses  "  and  the  "  Upper  Houses."  The  present 
city,  in  its  central  part,  constituted  the  "  Lower  Houses," 
and  the  olden  part  of  what  is  now  Cromwell  the  "  Upper 
Houses."  These  quaint  terms  held  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  from  the  first  settlements,  or  until  1851, 
when  the  "  Upper  Houses  "  became  Cromwell.  The  point 
where  Middletown  was  begun  by  the  original  settlers  of 
1650  is  near  the  heart  of  the  present  city.  The  spot  is 
seen  marked  by  a  rough  boulder,  a  bronze  plate  in  the 
stone's  face  recording  the  data  of  the  town's  beginnings. 
It  overlooks  the  River  and  the  nearer  railroad,  and  is  over- 
shadowed now  by  a  Catholic  institution  which  fronts  the 
ancient  burying-ground  where  the  Puritan  settlers  sleep. 
The  boulder  placed  close  to  the  graveyard  fence  marks  the 
Green  of  the  first  town  centre.  In  the  burying-ground, 
with  its  memorials  of  the  early  settlers,  is  seen  the  monu- 
ment to  Commodore  Macdonough,  the  '•  hero  of  Lake 
Champlain  "  in  the  War  of  1812,  whose  associations  with 
Middletown  were  through  his  marriage  and  home  here 
after  his  laurels  were  won.     His  death  occurred  at  sea. 

Among  modern  structures  on  the  Main  Street  a  plain 
stone  building  of  official  aspect  with  the  sign  ''  Custom 
House  "  on  its  front  is  the  relic  of  Middletown's  departed 
commercial  importan  ce .  At  one  time  in  the  latter  eighteenth 
century  Middletown  outran  Hartford,  and  was  the  principal 
port  on  the  River,  much  engaged  in  foreign  trade.  Early 
in  that  century  in  had  begun  shipbuilding,  and  the  "  cheer- 
ful music  of  the  adze  and  hammer "  were  heard  in  its 


Hartford  to  the  Sea  455 

shipyards  for  long  after.  At  the  opening  of  the  Revolution 
it  is  said  that  more  shipping  was  owned  here  than  any- 
where else  in  Connecticut.  John  Fiske  recalls  a  distinct 
nautical  flavor  about  the  place  so  late  as  the  decade  before 
the  Civil  War.  Meanwhile  manufacturing  had  become 
permanently  established.  By  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  mills  were  numerous  on  the  brooks  and  streams 
tributary  to  the  River,  producing  various  small  wares,  — 
ingenious  and  very  useful  "  Yankee  notions  "  peculiar  to 
Connecticut  manufacture, — with  machines  and  machin- 
ery. Then  Middletown,  at  its  bi-centennial,  was  described 
invitingly  as  a  rural  city  where  "wealth,  satisfied  with 
objects  that  impart  refinement  and  rational  enjoyment, 
must  ever  delight  to  dwell."  Now  its  industrial  statistics 
show  a  broader  variety  of  manufacture,  yet  it  remains  the 
wholesome  rural  city  with  the  added  refinements  of  riper 
years,  where  all  of  its  community  as  well  as  "  wealth  " 
must  find  is  good  to  dwell. 

Wesleyan  University,  which  with  the  Berkeley  Divinity 
School  gives  the  city  the  academic  atmosphere,  has  been 
identified  with  Middletown  from  the  foundation  of  the 
institution  in  1831,  the  first  established  college  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  country.  Its  career 
started  in  the  buildings  of  Captain  Partridge's  "  American 
Literary,  Scientific,  and  Military  Academy,"  which  had 
removed  to  Middletown  from  Norwich,  Vermont,  in  the 
Upper  Valley,  in  1824.  Designed  to  "  educate  the  mind 
and  body  together,"  under  military  discipline,  the  academy 
had  given  a  certain  tone  to  the  town,  with  its  soldierly 
instructors  and  uniformed  cadets,  many  of  whom  came 
from  the  South.  But  after  five  years  it  returned  to  Nor- 
wich, and  its  buildings  were  for  sale  when  the  projectors 
of  Wesleyan  were  looking  about  for  a  location.     This 


456  Connecticut  River 

opportunity  to  acquire  ready  made  college  halls,  together 
with  a  liberal  endowment  fund  which  Middletown  citizens 
subscribed,  brought  the  institution  here.  As  time  went 
on,  and  the  college  expanded  to  university  proportions, 
new  buildings  were  added,  and  along  the  broad  college 
green  on  beautiful  High  Street,  College  Row  arose  fair  and 
stately  as  it  appears  to-day.  The  Protestant  Episcopal 
Berkeley  Divinity  School,  although  founded  in  Hartford, 
has  also  been  identified  with  Middletown  from  its  estab- 
lishment as  a  chartered  institution.  Credit  for  its  exist- 
ence and  its  growth  to  its  present  proportions  belongs  and 
is  generously  given  to  Bishop  John  Williams  (of  the  Deer- 
field  Williams  family),  fourth  bishop  of  Connecticut,  who 
organized  it  as  the  theological  department  of  Trinity  after 
he  had  become  president  of  that  college  in  1849,  and  who 
was  its  active  head  from  the  beginning  till  his  death  in 
1899.  The  main  building,  once  a  commodious  mansion 
house,  constitutes  a  dignified  central  piece  to  the  college 
plant. 

Other  mansions  pleasantly  placed  along  the  River 
banks  disappeared  or  were  despoiled  with  the  occupation 
of  the  water-front  by  railroads  and  its  consequent  trans- 
formation. One  of  these  was  the  boyhood  home  of  John 
Fiske.  From  his  study  window  the  view  that  "  used  to 
range  across  green  pastures  to  the  quiet  blue  waters" 
became  obstructed  by  an  embankment  and  a  coal-wharf. 
This  was  the  house  of  Fiske's  maternal  grandmother, 
where  he  lived  from  less  than  a  year  after  his  birth  in 
Hartford  (March,  1842)  till  at  eighteen  he  entered  Harvard 
in  the  sophomore  class.  It  was  in  this  old  family  mansion, 
browsing  much  in  its  excellent  library,  that  he  exhibited 
that  marvellous  precocity  which  astonished  his  tutors :  at 
six,  taking  up  the  study  of  Latin  ;  at  seven,  reading  Caesar, 


C/3 


X 

3 


C 


Hartford  to  the  Sea  457 

and  for  entertainment,  RoUin,  Josephus,  and  Goldsmith's 
Greece ;  at  eight,  delving  into  Milton,  Bunyan,  and  Pope, 
having  already  absorbed  all  of  Shakspere ;  at  nine,  begin- 
ning Greek ;  before  eleven,  devouring  more  history,  Gibbon, 
Robertson,  Prescott,  and  most  of  Froissart ;  in  his  twelfth 
year,  writing  from  memory  "a  chronological  table  from 
B.  c.  1000  to  A.  D.  1820,  filling  a  quarto  blank  book  of  sixty 
pages " ;  by  thirteen,  taking  up  mathematics,  teaching 
himself  music,  and  singing  in  the  church  choir;  at  fifteen, 
beginning  German ;  at  sixteen,  keeping  his  "  journal "  in 
Spanish,  and  reading  various  other  modern  languages ;  at 
seventeen,  beginning  Hebrew  and  dipping  into  science. 
With  all  this  amazing  reading  and  study,  "  averaging  twelve 
hours  daily  twelve  months  in  the  year,  before  he  was  six- 
teen," he  was  no  pedant,  but  a  genuine  youth,  devoted 
with  ardor  to  out-door  sports  and  life,  taking  long  walks 
and  rides  in  the  country  round  about,  and  boating  on  the 
River.  He  was  Edmund  Fiske  Green  till  his  thirteenth 
year.  His  father,  Edmund  Brewster  Green,  was  a  native 
of  Delaware,  and  his  mother,  Mary  Fiske  (Bound)  Green, 
of  Middletown.  Edmund  Brewster  Green  had  been  a 
student  at  Wesleyan,  class  of  1837,  and  had  met  Mary 
Bound  in  the  social  life  of  the  town.  He  became  a  clever 
journalist,  and  at  one  time  was  private  secretary  to  Henry 
Clay.  He  died  young,  at  thirty-seven,  when  editing  a 
paper  in  Panama,  in  1852.  Edmimd  Fiske  Green  became 
John  Fiske,  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  when  his  mother 
married  Edwin  W.  Stoughton,  the  New  York  lawyer,  of 
the  Valley  Stoughton  family.  He  took  the  name  of  his 
maternal  great-grandfather,  John  Fiske,  a  man  of  force 
and  character  in  Middletown,  for  half  a  century  the  town 
clerk. 

The  home  of  the  poet  Brainard,  for  a  little  time  in 


458  Connecticut  River 

Middletown,  was  also  near  the  water-front.  Brainard  came 
to  Middletown  in  1819  and  opened  a  law  office,  having 
reluctantly  adopted  the  profession  of  his  father,  Judge 
Brainard,  of  New  London.  He  proved  an  indifferent 
lawyer,  given  more  to  letters  than  to  briefs.  Several  of 
his  minor  poems  were  written  in  his  clientless  office  on 
Main  Street.  At  length  he  abandoned  his  profession, 
when  he  went  up  to  Hartford  to  edit  the  Mirror  and 
engage  exclusively  in  the  hazardous  literary  life. 

From  Middletown  Landing  the  steamer  floats  down 
the  River,  now  sweeping  eastward  beside  the  Chatham 
hills.  As  the  channel  narrows  below  Middletown  and 
takes  its  wayward  course  among  the  shoals,  the  pilot's 
skill  comes  into  good  play.  At  times  the  bow  of  the  boat 
seems  about  to  pierce  the  River's  bank  on  one  side  and 
the  stern  to  scrape  the  shore  on  the  other  side;  but  she 
glides  onward  with  the  ease  of  a  canoe.  About  two  miles 
out  from  Middletown  Landing  the  romantic  pass  of  "  The 
Straits,"  where  the  River  cuts  boldly  through  the  range 
of  hills,  is  approached,  and  its  gentle  aspect  changes  to 
quite  a  majestic  air.  In  a  deep  and  narrow  channel  it 
swiftly  flows  for  a  mile's  length  between  rocky  banks  rising 
to  heights  of  from  four  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet. 

On  the  rugged  north  hills  are  historic  mines,  in  local- 
ities yet  picturesque.  One,  near  the  head  of  The  Straits, 
was  the  "  Old  Lead  Mine  "  worked  by  foreigners  before 
the  Revolution,  and  then  seized  by  the  Connecticut  gov- 
ernment, supplying  large  quantities  of  lead  for  the  colony's 
use  through  the  war.  Another,  beyond  and  above  the  end 
of  The  Straits,  was  the  older  and  more  romantic  "Gov- 
ernor's Gold  Ring."  This  was  the  place  of  the  early 
investigations  of  John  Winthrop  the  younger,  for  mineral 


P-. 


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Hartford  to  the  Sea  459 

wealth.  Its  site  is  on  Great  Hill,  on  The  Strait  Hills 
range,  in  the  precincts  of  Cobalt,  a  village  romantically 
set,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  old  cobalt  mines  of  the 
region,  north  of  Middle  Haddam  Landing.  The  "  Gov- 
ernor's Gold  Ring"  was  in  the  reservation  which  in  1661 
the  town  of  Middletown  granted  to  "  our  much  honoured 
Governor,  Mr.  John  Winthrop,"  for  the  encouragement  of 
his  projects  for  the  discovery  of  mines  and  minerals,  and 
the  setting  up  of  works  for  their  improvement.  Here, 
then  a  lonely  and  dangerous  wilderness,  this  intrepid  colo- 
nial scientist  used  to  resort,  accompanied  only  by  his  ser- 
vant, often  spending  three  weeks  at  a  time  in  roasting 
ores  or  assaying  metals.  Although  no  "  finds  "  of  great 
value  rewarded  him,  the  colonists  gave  the  place  its  glit- 
tering name  from  their  impression  that  he  had  actually 
obtained  gold  sufficient  at  least  to  be  made  into  rings. 

Night  falls  during  the  passage  of  The  Straits,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  steamboat's  voyage  is  made  in  darkness. 
It  is  enlivened,  however,  by  the  play  of  the  steamer's 
searchlight  upon  the  banks  as  the  several  landings  are 
approached.  Thus  at  intervals  a  series  of  pleasant  land- 
scapes are  thrown  up  to  view  as  on  a  canvas.  Middle 
Haddam  Landing,  in  Chatham,  appears  at  the  end  of  the 
River's  long  eastward  sweep  and  its  turn  southward  again. 
Next  Rock  Landing,  in  East  Haddam,  is  disclosed  in  the 
mellow  light.  Then  East  Haddam  Landing;  and  Good- 
speed's,  in  Haddam ;  Hadlyme ;  Deep  River,  in  Chester ; 
Hambm-gh,  in  Lyme ;  Essex  Landing ;  Lyme  Landing ; 
and  finally  Saybrook  Point. 

The  Haddams  have  various  attractions,  scenic  and  his- 
torical. Shipbuilding,  from  the  splendid  timber  grown 
among  the  hills,  was  a  brisk  industry  on  their  river-fronts 
during  and  after  the  Revolution.     East  Haddam  is  espe- 


460  Connecticut  River 

cially  charming  in  parts.  Salmon  River  coming  down 
from  the  highland  and  here  dropping  into  the  Connecticut 
beautifies  the  landscape.  This  tributary  was  in  the  old 
days  a  rich  salmon-fishing  place,  and  so  got  its  name.  In 
East  Haddam,  Nathan  Hale,  "  the  American  spy,"  began 
his  modest  career  as  a  schoolmaster  a  few  years  before  the 
Revolution,  and  the  little  house  in  which  he  taught  has 
been  preserved  by  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  In  old 
Haddam  the  visitor  is  directed  to  a  number  of  interesting 
landmarks.  Haddam  was  the  birthplace  of  David  Dudley 
Field  and  Stephen  Johnson  Field,  justice  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  the  elder  of  the  four  remarkable 
Field  brothers  (Cyrus  West  Field  and  the  Rev.  Henry 
Martyn  Field  having  been  born  in  Stockbridge,  in  the 
Berkshire  hills).  Their  sister,  Emelia,  who  became  the 
wife  of  an  American  missionary  in  Turkey,  and  the  mother 
of  another  United  States  Supreme  Court  judge,  Mr.  Justice 
Brewer,  was  also  born  here.  Their  father,  the  Rev.  David 
Dudley  Field,  distinguished  in  his  walk  as  minister  and 
town  historian,  was  minister  of  the  first  Haddam  church 
for  many  years.  Beginning  in  1804  he  was  twice  settled 
here,  before  and  after  his  pastorate  in  Stockbridge.  The 
memory  of  the  family  is  kept  fresh  in  the  town  through 
the  gift,  by  Dr.  Field's  sons,  of  the  Meeting-house  Green 
and  Field  Park  adjoining  the  site  of  the  old  church  where 
their  father  preached  so  long.  An  earlier  minister  of  the 
Haddam  church  was  the  Rev.  Aaron  Cleveland  (or  Cleave- 
land),  great-great-grandfather  of  ex-President  Cleveland. 
He  was  the  minister  from  1739  to  1746.  Subsequently 
he  went  to  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  and  while  there  became 
a  Church-of -England  man.  He  obtained  Episcopal  ordina- 
tion in  England,  and  returning  to  America  under  appoint- 
ment as  a  missionary,  he  began  his  labors  in  Delaware. 


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Wesleyan  University — Memorial  Chapel. 


Hartford  to  the  Sea  461 

He  died  in  Philadelphia  in  1757,  at  the  home  of  his  old 
friend,  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual 
physique,  "  tall,  well  proportioned,  and  powerful."  When 
a  student  at  Harvard  he  outranked  his  college  mates  as  the 
best  swimmer,  skater,  and  wrestler. 

Other  pious  sons  of  Haddam  were  the  brothers  Brainard 
—  David  and  John  —  eighteenth  century  missionaries  to 
the  Indians.  David  Brainard  was  that  flame  of  piety,  the 
ardor  of  whose  labors  among  the  Indians,  emulating  the 
work  of  John  Eliot  a  century  before  him,  burned  out  his 
young  life  in  his  thirtieth  year ;  and  whose  journals,  pub- 
lished in  1749  with  a  memoir  by  Jonathan  Edwards,  became 
a  classic  of  missionary  literature.  The  house  where  he 
was  born,  in  1718,  stood  back  from  the  River  on  an  eleva- 
tion commanding  a  fine  prospect ;  and  near  by  were  the 
beautiful  groves  and  sweet  fields  where,  when  a  child, 
"  sober  and  inclined  to  melancholy,"  he  wandered  alone, 
and  wrestled  with  his  imagined  "  vileness  "  for  peace  with 
an  awful  God.  He  became  affianced  to  Jerusha,  the 
youngest  daughter  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  but  their  union 
was  sacrificed  to  his  missionary  work.  She  gave  up  her 
life  in  her  care  of  him  through  his  long  lingering  illness 
of  consmnption,  her  death  occurring  scarcely  four  months 
after  his,  in  her  eighteenth  year.  He  died  at  Jonathan 
Edwards's  house  in  Northampton,  in  October,  1747,  and 
was  buried  in  the  old  Northampton  burying-ground. 
"  Eight  of  the  neighboring  ministers,  and  seventeen  other 
gentlemen  of  liberal  education,  and  a  great  concourse  of 
people"  attended  his  funeral,  Jonathan  Edwards  preaching 
the  funeral  discourse. 

Essex  is  interesting  as  an  old-time  shipbuilding  place, 
where  war-ships  were  built  in  the  Revolution,  and  where 
in  the  War  of  1812    the  British   cornered  a  number  of 


462  Connecticut  River 

American  vessels  and  destroyed  them.  Boat-building  and 
sail-making  are  still  carried  on  here  to  some  extent,  but 
manufacturing  long  since  became  the  foremost  industry. 
The  town  was  a  part  of  Old  Saybrook  till  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

From  Saybrook  Point  the  steamer  continues  her  night- 
voyage  out  into  the  Sound  and  on  to  New  York.  The 
traveller  confining  his  journey ings  to  the  Valley  therefore 
disembarks  at  this  last  River  landing,  and  finds  shelter  for 
the  remainder  of  the  night  at  a  Saybrook  inn.  The  next 
morning,  instead  of  leaving  the  Valley  at  Saybrook  Junc- 
tion, he  might  well  return  to  Hartford  by  railroad  and 
depart  at  that  central  point  for  the  world  at  large.  Thus 
he  may  make  a  leisurely  finishing  trip,  with  "  stop-overs" 
at  the  pleasant  places  passed  on  the  down-sail  after 
nightfall. 

Thus  we  have  followed  the  course  of  the  "  Beautiful 
River  "  of  which  the  poet  whose  name  is  most  closely  asso- 
ciated with  it  sings: 

From  that  lone  lake,  the  sweetest  of  the  chain 
That  links  the  mountain  to  the  mighty  main, 
Fresh  from  the  rock  and  swelling  by  the  tree, 
Rushing  to  meet  and  dare  and  brave  the  sea  — 
Fair,  noble,  glorious  river  !  in  thy  wave 
The  sunniest  slopes  and  sweetest  pastures  lave ; 
The  mountain  torrent  with  its  wintry  roar. 
Springs  from  its  home  and  leaps  upon  thy  shore. 

It  was  Dr.  Dwight's  observation  a  hundred  years  ago,  that 
the  inhabitants  of  this  Valley  then  possessed  a  common 
character,  and  in  all  the  different  states  through  which  it 
extends  resembled  each  other  more  than  their  fellow  citi- 
zens living  on  the  coast  resembled  them.     This  similarity 


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Hartford  to  the  Sea  463 

he  found  to  be  derived  from  theu-  descent,  their  education, 
their  local  circumstances,  and  their  mutual  interests. 
"  People,"  he  sagely  remarked,  "  who  live  on  a  pleasant 
surface  and  on  a  soil  fertile  and  easy  of  cultivation,  usually 
possess  softer  dispositions  and  manners  .  .  .  than  those  who 
from  inhabiting  rougher  grounds  acquire  rougher  minds 
and  coarser  habits.  Even  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  .  .  . 
becomes  a  source  of  pride  as  well  as  of  enjoyment."  So 
it  appeared  that  there  was  no  tract  in  which  learning  was 
more,  and  more  uniformly,  encouraged,  or  where  sobriety 
and  decorum  were  more  generally  demanded  or  exhibited. 
"  Steadiness  of  character,  softness  of  manners,  a  disposition 
to  read,  respect  for  the  laws  and  magistrates,  a  strong  sense 
of  liberty  blended  with  a  strong  sense  of  the  indispensable 
importance  of  energetic  government,"  were  all  predominant 
in  this  region. 

These  original  traits  survive,  but  not  unchanged.  The 
smoothing  hand  of  time  has  passed  over  both  people  and 
landscape,  softening  a  rugged  feature  here  and  there, 
removing  some  asperities,  replacing  with  the  beauty  of 
cultivation  the  wilder  beauty  of  nature  in  the  rough ;  and 
yet  leaving  both  to  the  inhabitants  and  to  the  scenery 
those  picturesque  qualities  which,  we  hope,  will  forever 
be  associated  with  the  Valley  of  the  Connecticut. 


• 


# 


Index 


Abenakis.     See  Indian  tribes. 
"Abigail,"  the  ship,  29;  30. 
Adams,  Deacon,  Indian  captive,  245; 

John  Adams,  407;  Samuel  Adams, 

394;  407;  415. 
Agawam,  36;  363;  429.     Indian  name 

of  Springfield,  see  Springfield. 
Agawam  River.    See  Westfield  River. 
Agawams.     See  Indian  tribes. 
Allen,  Ethan,  259;  276;  277;  278;  279; 

285;  286;  Ira  Allen,  279;  283;  284; 

287;  288;  292;  293;  294;  295;  296. 
Alsop,  Richard,  441. 
Altarbaenhoot,  or  Netawanute,  Indian 

chief,  20;  82. 
American  built  yachts,   the  earliest, 

1;  5. 
American  democracy,  37;   birthplace 

of,  51. 
Amherst,  362;  413;  414;  417;  419. 
Amherst  College,  244;  352;  417;  419. 
Amherst,  Gen.  Jeffrey,  247;  248;  250. 
Ammonoosuc   Rivers,  206;   250;  338; 

353;  355;  374. 
Amsterdam  Trading  Company,  9;  10; 

11. 
Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  71;  74;  75;  76; 

139;  161;  436;  the  affair  of  the  Con- 
necticut charter,  440,  443. 
Appalachian  chain,  346;  347. 
Appleton,    Maj.,    117,   12.3,   124,   125, 

1.30,    135,    137,    140,    143;    Thomas 

Gold  Appleton,  9. 
Apsley,  Alice,  see  Fen  wick,  Lady;  Sir 

Edward  Apsley,  73. 
"Archipelagos,"  The,  6. 
Arsenal,  United  States.     See  Spring- 
field. 


Ashmun  family,  in  Northampton,  409. 

Ashuelot  River,  153;  358. 

Atherton,  Rev.  Hope,  154;  156. 

Atkinson,  Hodgson,  314,  name  in  Bel- 
lows Falls,  314;  Col.  Theodore  At- 
kinson, 225. 

Atlee,  Samuel  J.,  280. 

B 

Bailey  (or  Bay  ley).  Gen.  Jacob,  284; 

379. 
Bancroft,    George,    34;    70;    116;    in 

Northampton,   409;   in  Springfield, 

429. 
Baptiste,  Capt.,  171;  188. 
Barlow,  Joel,  441. 
Barnard  family,  LnDeerfield,  396. 
Barnard,  Frederick  A.  P.,  442. 
Bamet,  250;   315;   proposed  head  of 

river  navigation,   317;    surveys   for 

canals   from,   320;    321;    322;    333; 

334;  337;  354;  378;  Scotch  settlers 

of,  378. 
Barton  River,  348. 
Bates  family,  in  Northampton,  409. 
Bath,  262;  355;  378. 
"  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook."    See  King 

Philip's  War. 
Bay  Path,  The,  35;  outlined,  36;  85; 

143;  427. 
Beaucours,  Capt.  de,  178. 
Beecher,  Rev.  Henry  Ward,  47, 
Beecher's  Falls,  368. 
Beers,  Capt.  Richard,  in  King  Philip's 

War,  117;  120;  121;  fatal  march  of, 

121  - 122 ;    grave  of,  in  Northfield, 

122,  393. 
Beers's  Mountain,  122. 
Beers's  Plam,  122,  393. 


465 


466 


Connecticut  River 


Belcher,  Jonathan,  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 206;  the  "Governor's 
Farm,"  Chesterfield,  209. 

Bellows  Fort,  241. 

Bellows,  Gen.,  Benjamin,  225;  241; 
242;  270;  293;  389;  Rev.  Henry  W. 
Bellows,  389. 

Bellows  Falls,  185;  203;  204;  207;  238; 
in  the  Last  French  War,  240;  canal 
at,  311,  314;  316;  317;  335;  336; 
337;  339;  356;  the  gorge,  356-357, 
388. 

Bennington,  220;  221;  267;  264;  271; 
273;  Vermont  Assembly  at,  274, 
283,  294,  297-298,  287. 

Bennington  Party,  The,  257;  258;  264; 
268;  274;  276;  277;  278;  283;  286; 
287;  290;  292;  294;  295;  298. 

Berkeley  Divinity  School,  453;  455; 
development  of,  456. 

Berkshire  County,  311;  Berkshire 
Hills,  202:  347;  362;  363. 

Bemardstown,  183;  first  "Falls  Fight 
Township,"  207;  named  for  Sir 
Francis  Bernard,  207;  211. 

Black  River,  206;  246;  348;  366;  387. 

Blanchard,  Joseph,  surveyor,  252;  Col. 
Josiah  Blanchard,  225;  Thomas 
Blanchard,  river  steamboat  builder, 
336. 

"Blessing  of  the  Bay,"  the  ship,  17; 
18;  41. 

Bliss  tavern,  Haverhill,  381. 

Block,  Adriaen,  1;  2;  3;  4;  voyage  of 
discovery  to  and  up  the  Connecti- 
cut, 6-8;  further  explanations  of, 
8-9;  10;  11;  12;  82;  84. 

Block  Island,  2 ;  first  named  Luisa, 
named  for  Adriaen  Block,  8;  84-88; 
91;  92;  94. 

Block  Island  Indians,  84;  89;  90;  ex- 
pedition agamst,  91,  92. 

Bloody  Brook,  126;  129;  398;  Battle 
of,  see  King  Philip's  War. 

Bloomfield  (first  Minehead),  352;  372. 

Blow-me-down  Brook,  387. 


Boundary  lines  between  states,  Con- 
necticut north  bound,  199-200,  362, 
364;  Connecticut  west  bound,  220, 
221,  254;  Massachusetts  north 
bound,  362,  389;  Massachusetts-New 
Hampshire  line,  198,  199,  208,  210, 
211;  Massachusetts  west  bound,  220, 
221,  254;  New  Hampshire  west- 
bound, 220,  254,  255,  288,  289,  291, 
299;  New  Hampshire-Canada  north 
line,  348,  349;  New  Hampshire-Can- 
ada west  line,  351  ;  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont,  and  Canada  line, 
361;  New  Hampshire  -  Vermont 
line,  277,  279,  282,  299;  United 
States-Canada  line,  376;  Vermont 
lines,  279,  291,  294,  296;  Vermont- 
Canada  line,  368. 

Boynton,  Sir  Matthew,  67. 

Bradford,  William,  governor  of  Ply- 
mouth, 13;  15;  16;  18;  25;  26;  28; 
29. 

Bradford  (first  Moretown),  299;  354; 
355;  381. 

Bradley,  Stephen  Rowe,  288. 

Bradstreet,  Simon,  43;  44. 

Brainard,  John  G.  C,  441;  442;  457- 
458;  462. 

Brainard,  David,  missionary  to  the 
Indians,  birthplace  in  Haddam,  461; 
grave  of,  in  Northampton,  461;  his 
brother  John,  461. 

Brattle,  William,  200;  Brattleborough 
named  for,  200. 

Brattleborough,  83;  171;  183;  198; 
199;  200;  204;  219;  conventions  at, 
285,  290;  286;  321;  335;  341;  348; 
357;  368;  388;  the  modern  town, 
389-391. 

Brewster's,  Col.,  Hanover  Inn,  298. 

Brewster,  Jonathan,  24;  26;  26. 

Bridges,  the  first  Hartford  bridge, 
306;  309;  first  across  the  river, 
367;  377;  first  in  the  Massachusetts 
Reach,  426. 

Brodhead,  John  Romeyne,  11;  62. 


Index 


467 


Brooke,  Lord.  20;  68;  69. 
Brookfield,  85;  114;  116;  135;  146;  158. 
Brunswick,  353;  373;  374. 
Bull,  Capt.  Thoma.s,  74;  75;  76. 
Burdette,  Charles  L.,  365. 
Burr,  Aaron,  47;  397;  436. 
Bushnell,  Rev.  Horace,  445. 


Cable,  George  W.,  409;  417. 
Cambridge,    Massachusetts,    colonists 

for  river  towns  from,  24,  33,  34,  36. 
Canaan,  351;  352;  368;  371;  372;  373. 
Canada,  81;  145;  148;   161;   captives 

taken  to,  164, 165,  165-166, 177,  180, 

213,   227,   245,   241;   167;  171;   181; 

185;  189;  193;  conquest  of,  198,  201, 

252,  379;    199;  204;    205;  213;  241; 

244;     proposed   union   of   Vennont 

with,  290;  projected  canals  to,  320, 

322;  347;  348;  353;   367;  368;  369; 

370. 
Canal  companies,  311;  312;  313;  314; 

315;  318;  319;  320;  321;  322;  324. 
Canals.     See  Locks  and  Canals. 
Canoeing,  337;  384;  418.     See  Biver 

craft;  also,  Navigation. 
Canonchet,    Indian   chief,    142;    146; 

148;  fate  of,  151-152;  153;  158. 
Canonicus,  Indian  chief,  85;  89. 
Caughnawagas.     See  Indian  tribes. 
Chambly,  Mons.  de,  191. 
Chambly,  186;  188;  203;  236. 
Champney,  J.  Wells,  398. 
Channing,  WilliamrtEllery,  397. 
Chapiu,    Deacon    Samuel,   statue    of 

"The  Puritan,"   420;    Henry  and 

Japhet  Chapin,  420;  Hannah  (Cha- 

pin)  Sheldon,  423. 
Chapin  family  in  Springfield  and  Chic- 

opee,  420;  423. 
Chapman,  Capt.  Robert,  74. 
Charlestown,  201;  207;  208;  209;  210; 

in  the  Old  French  War,  212-214; 

named  for  Sir  Charles  Knowles,  218; 

219;  223;  225;  in  the  Last  French 


War,  227-230,  240,  244,  245;  246; 
261;  252;  conventions  at,  291-293; 
Vermont  Assembly  at,  295,  296,  297, 
298;  New  Hampshire  Assembly  at, 
299;  311;  339;  386;  387;  the  modern 
town,  388. 

Charter  Oak,  the,  72;  440;  442;  site  of, 
443. 

Chastellux,  Marquis  de,  450. 

Chatham,  452;  war-ships  and  packets 
built  at,  452;  459. 

Chatham  hills,  458. 

Cheshire  County,  291 ;  295. 

Chester,  Deep  River  Landing,  459. 

Chestei-field,  208;  209;  210;  295;  358; 
388;  390;  391. 

Chesterfield  Academy,  391. 

Chicopee,  161;  363;  419;  420;  the 
modern  city,  423. 

Chicopee  River,  311;  363;  423. 

Chittenden,  Thomas,  governor  of  Ver- 
mont, 275;  276;  277;  278;  284;  299. 

Christiaensen,  Hendrich,  Dutch  navi- 
gator, 3;  4;  8;  9. 

Churchill,  Winston,  387. 

Clap,  Rev.  Thomas,  president  of  Yale 
College,  78. 

Claremont   318;  356;  386;  387;  388. 

Clarke,  David,  433;  Martha  Pitkin 
(Wolcott)  Clarke,  see  Pitkin, 
Martha. 

Clarksville,  371;  named  for  Benjamin 
Clark,  372. 

Clark's  Island,  its  legend  of  Capt. 
Kidd,  393. 

Clemens,  Samuel  Langhorne,  Hartford 
home  of,  446. 

Cleveland,  Rev.  Aaron,  406-461;  an- 
cestor of  Grover  Cleveland,  460. 

Colebrook,  352;  371;  named  for  Sir 
John  Colebrook,  372. 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  governor  of  New 
York,  321. 

Clinton,  George,  governor  of  New 
York,  220;  285;  286;  289. 

Clyde  River,  348. 


468 


Connecticut  River 


Cobalt,  459. 

Cogswell,  Dr.  Joseph  Green,  409. 

College  Party,  The,  257;  258;  259; 
centered  in  "Dresden"  (Hanover), 
260,  262;  266;  addresses  of,  262- 
263,  264,  267,  268,  272;  280-282; 
the  "  United  Committees,"  263,  266, 
267,  268,  273,  275,  279;  the  "Protest- 
ing Members,"  278,  279,  280;  the 
"  United  Towns,"  283,  288;  289;  290; 
291;  293;  294;  295;  297;  298;  299; 
300;  332. 

Cold  River,  242;  357. 

Colden,  Cadwallader,  lieut. -governor 
of  New  York,  254;  256. 

Cole,  John,  435;  his  wife,  Anna  (Ed- 
wards) Cole,  see  Edwards. 

Colonial  life  in  the  River  towns,  163. 

Columbia  (first  Cockbum  Town, 
named  for  Sir  James  Cockbum), 
352;  372;  373. 

Concord,  Massachusetts,  158;  grantees 
of  River  townships  meeting  at,  207. 

Concord,  New  Hampshire,  207;  224; 
318. 

Connecticut  charter,  71;  72;  200;  440; 
443. 

Connecticut  Colony,  47,  48-55;  64;  67; 
68;  69;  70;  charter  for,  71,  72;  79; 
80;  81;  in  the  Pequot  wars,  97-112; 
in  King  Philip's  War,  113,  136,  139, 
151,  158,  161;  199-200;  281;  307; 
440;  443. 

Connecticut  constitution,  49;  50;  51. 

Connecticut  Historical  Society,  50;  66; 
443;  444. 

Connecticut  lakes,  346;  Fourth  Lake, 
348-349;  Third  (or  Sophy)  Lake, 
349  ;  Second  Lake,  349,  350;  First 
(or  Connecticut)  Lake,  349,  350,  351, 
358,  367,  368,  369,  371. 

Connecticut  "Old  Patent,"  19;  68;  69; 
71;   72. 

Connecticut  Path,  the  Old,  35. 

Connecticut  plantations,  provisional 
government  for,  45-46;  48. 


Connecticut  River,  Indian  name  of, 
Quinnitukqut  or  Long  tidal  river,  1 ; 
Dutch  name  of,  De  Versche,  or 
Freshwater,  1,  6,  16,  22;  English 
name  of,  Connecticut,  1;  called 
"The  Beautiful  River,"  6;  discovery 
of,  and  exploration,  by  Adriaen 
Block,  6-8;  an  early  colonial  high- 
way, 303-309;  opened  to  navigation 
by  the  Dutch,  304;  Dutch  occupa- 
tion, 12-13,  56-66;  English  occupa- 
tion, 14-23,  24-37;  colonial  naviga- 
tion, 303-304;  locks  and  canals,  310- 
324;  steamboats  and  steamboating, 
325-341;  headwaters,  346  (see  Con- 
necticut lakes);  course  through  four 
states,  347;  area  of  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont  drained,  347;  tribu- 
taries from  New  Hampshire  and 
Vermont,  347,  348,  352,  353,  354, 
355,  356,  357,  358,  entering  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, 359,  361,  362,  363,  394, 
in  Connecticut,  364,  365,  366;  ter- 
race system,  351,  352;  the  "  terrace 
basins"  from  the  headwaters  to 
Long  Island  Sound,  352-366;  chang- 
es in  the  river  bed,  364-365. 

Connecticut -River  Canal  Company, 
The,  322. 

Connecticut-River  Company,  The,  319; 
320;  322;  333. 

Connecticut-River  Valley  Steam  Boat 
Company,  338. 

Connecticut,  state,  320;  347.  See 
Boundaries. 

Connecticut  State  House,  the  old,  440, 
441 ;  the  new,  72,  364,  443,  445. 

Connecticut  Trail,  the  second,  36. 

Connecticut  Valley,  topography  of, 
345-366;  bounding  summits,  347; 
the  Upper  Valley,  198,  199,  203, 
204,  206,  220,  256,  259,  260,  326, 
351,  352,  354,  389,  391;  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Reach,  359-363; the  "new 
red  sandstone"  formations,  369-361; 
the  Lower  Valley,  430-447,  448-463. 


Index 


469 


Co6s  country,    The,    186;    203;    220; 

223;  224;  250;  363;  the  "Garden  of 

New  England,"  353;  373;  the  Lower 

Coos,  225,  263,  354,  355,  368,  373, 

378,   385;    Upper    Coos,   225,   263, 

354,  373,  376. 
Continental  Congress,  263;  264;  276; 

276;   277;   278;   279;  284;  286;  287; 

288;  289;  294;  295;  296;  297;  298. 
Cooper,    James    Fenimore,   88;    118; 

Lieut.  Thomas  Cooper,  134;  Lieut. 

William  Cooper,  117. 
Cotton,  Rev.  John,  39;  40;  41;  43. 
Cornish,  260;  273;  conventions  at,  279, 

280,  282,  283,  293,  294;   297;   356; 

386;  387. 
Courtemanche,  Capt.,  191. 
Cowass,  on  the  Great  Ox-Bow,  179; 

203;  223;  224;  378. 
Cromwell,  365;  462;  454. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  67;  68;  76. 
Cross,  James,  Indian  trader,  206. 
Crown  Point,  235;  236;  240;  246;  247; 

248. 
Crown  Point  Road,  246-247;  248. 
Cumberland  county,   264;    265;    285; 

289;  290. 

D 

Dalton,  351;  353;  354;  377. 

Dalton  Movm tains,  377. 

Dartmouth,  earl  of,  256;  383. 

Dartmouth  College,  established,  256, 
267,  269;  260;  261;  first  College 
Hall,  262;  264;  under  the  patronage 
of  Vermont,  274;  the  Dartmouth 
controversy,  300;  337;  355;  372; 
373;  380;  the  college  of  to-day,  382- 
383;  first  commencement,  in  1771, 
382-383.  See  College  Party;  Hano- 
ver; New  Connecticut,  Wheelock. 

Debeline,  Gen.,  215;  216;  217. 

Deane,  Silas,  450,  461;  his  brother, 
Barnabas,  461. 

Deerfield,  80;  81;  83;  in  King  Phihp's 
War,  116,  117,  119,  121,    123,  124, 


125,  126,  128,  129,  130,  136,  138, 
145,  148,  161,  154,  166,  158,  159, 
160;  reoccupation  of,  1C2,  167;  in 
the  French  and  Indian  wars,  164, 
165-166,  167-168,  179,  196,  212,  214; 
sack  of  m  1704,  164,  168-177,  180, 
191,  192,  200,  203,  204,  graves  of 
victims  of,  197;  198;  208;  Pocum- 
tuck,  Indian  name,  306;  311;  312; 
320;  321;  335;  356;  362;  the  mod- 
em town,  395-398;  Deerfield  Old 
Street,  124,  126,  156,  168,  395,  396, 
398;  414. 

Deerfield  Academy,  192;  397. 

Deerfield  Mountains,  361 ;  395. 

Deerfield  River,  83;  163;  164;  171; 
314;  321;  336;  362;  394;  395. 

Deerfield  Valley,  83;  395. 

Delaware  River,  John  Fitch's  steam- 
boats on,  326,  326,  328. 

Dennie,  "Joe,"  "the  American  Addi- 
son," 388-589. 

Dennison,  Capt.  George,  158;  169 

Dexter,  George,  2. 

Dickinson,  Reuben,  in  Ely's  insurrec- 
tion, 414. 

Dogs  in  Indian  warfare,  138;  a  captive 
squaw  thrown  to,  138-139;  the  hunt 
sergeant,  139. 

Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  colonists 
from,  24,  36,  44,  46;  controversies 
over  the  intrusion  of  on  the  Ply- 
mouth Meadows,25-29.  See  Windsor. 

"Dresden"  (Hanover),  260;  262;  266; 
268;  273;  277;  283;  284;  288;  con- 
ventions at,  298;  382. 

"Dresden  statesmen.  The,"  382.  See 
College  Party,  The. 

Dudley,  Joseph,  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 139;  169;  191;  Thomas 
Dudley,  governer  of  Massachusetts, 
43;  Col.  William  Dudley,  100,  191. 

Duke  of  York,  74;  grants  to,  221,  264. 

Dummer,  William,  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, 200;  Fort  Dummer  named 
for,  200;  202. 


470 


Connecticut  River 


Dummerston,  199;  219;  358;  388. 

Duportail,  Gen.  450. 

Dutch  arms,  set  up  at  Saybrook  Point, 
19;  31. 

Dutch  charter  of  1614,  9;  10;  11. 

Dutch  "House  of  Hope,"  The,  19;  21; 
22;  25;  26;  29;  36;  37;  fall  of,  56- 
66;  82;  86;  303. 

Dutch  occupation,  1-13;  first  trading 
post,  15,  19;  Indian  title,  16,  19; 
25;  42;  collisions  with  the  English, 
57-62;  93;  97;  101;  440. 

Dutch  Point,  440;  449. 

Dutch  West  India  Company,  11;  12; 
18;  19;  20;  22;  65. 

Duyckink,  Evert,  59. 

Dwight,  Capt.  Henry,  407;  Jonathan 
Dwight  &  Sons,  407;  Mary  (Ed- 
wards) Dwight,  407,  409;  Mehi table 
(Partridge)  Dwight,  407;  Judge 
Nathaniel  Dwight,  407;  Theodore 
Dwight,  407,  441;  Col.  Timothy 
Dwight,  200,  407;  Maj.  Timothy 
Dwight,  407,  409;  Dr.  Timothy 
Dwight  (president  of  Yale),  200, 
346,  350,  351,  365,  403,  404,  birth- 
place of,  407,  409,  412,  462. 

Dwight  family,  in  Hatfield,  197,  407; 
in  Northampton,  200,  407;  in  Spring- 
field, 311,  407,  420,  422,  423. 

Dyer,  William,  64;  65. 

E 

EastBarnet,  377;  378. 

East  Haddam,  80;  83;  366;  Rock  Land- 
ing, 469;  East  Haddam  Landing, 
459;  the  modem  town,  459-460. 

East  Hartford,  364;  438;  447. 

East  Northfield,  392;  393. 

East  Windsor,  329;  364;  431;  "Wind- 
sor Farmes,"  432;  438. 

Eastern  Union.     See  Vermont. 

Edwards,  Agnes  (Spencer),  435;  Anne 
(Edwards)  Cole,  435;  Elizabeth 
(Tuthill)  Edwards,  435;  erratic  ten- 
dencies of  Elizabeth  Tuthill  and  the 


Edwards  race,  435-436;  Esther 
(Stoddard)  Edwards,  436-437;  Je- 
rusha  Edwards,  461 ;  Rev.  Jonathan 
Edwards,  406,  407,  house  of,  400, 
410,  pulpit  of,  410;  birthplace  of, 
432,  434,  436,  437,  461;  Mary  (Tal- 
cott)  Edwards,  435;  Pierpont  Ed- 
wards, 436;  Richard  Edwards,  435, 
436;  Rev.  Timothy  Edwards,  house 
of,  434-435,  436,  437,  sketch  of,  435- 
437,  438;  William  Edwards,  435. 

Edwards  family,  in  Hartford,  435;  in 
Northampton,  407,  409,  410;  in 
South  Windsor,  434-438. 

Eelkens,  Jacob,  12. 

Election  sermon,  first  in  Vermont,  51. 

Ellsworth,  Josias,  431;  Oliver  Ells- 
worth, 431;  "Ellsworth  mansion," 
the,  431-432. 

Ely,  Nathaniel,  194;  Samuel  Ely,  see 
Ely's  insurrection. 

Ely's  insurrection,  411;  acts  of,  in 
Northampton,  412,  413,  414;  in 
Springfield,  413;  Samuel  Ely,  the 
leader,  412,  413,  414,  415. 

Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  397. 

Endicott,  John,  in  first  Pequot  expe- 
dition, 91,  93,  94;  sanguinary  com- 
mission of,  91. 

Enfield,  80;  81;  199;  4-30;  Enfield 
Shakers,  431. 

Enfield  Rapids,  7;  26;  83;  head  of  tide 
water  at,  303;  304;  305;  315;  316; 
317;  319;  322;  323;  334;  336;  364. 

EngUsh  occupation,  3;  13;  14-23;  entry 
of  Plymouth  men,  17;  Bay  colony 
expeditions,  17;  18;  establishment 
of  the  Plymouth  House,  20,  21;  66. 

"Equivalent  Lands,"  the,  199;  200; 
207;  210. 

Erving,  121;  393;  named  for  John  Er- 
ving,  394. 

Essex,  366;  461;  war-ships  and  priva- 
teers built  at,  461;  462. 

Everett,  Edward,  129,  Dr.  William 
Everett,  129. 


Index 


471 


Exeter,  260;  261;  263;  New  Hampshire 
government  at,  266,  268,  270,  272. 
275,  279,  282,  284,  287,  291,  296. 

Exeter  Party.  See  New  Hampshire 
government,  under  Exeter. 


Fairlee,  325;  Morey's  steamboat  at, 
330,  332-333;  381. 

Falls  Fight  Township.  See  Bernards- 
town. 

Falls  Mountain.     See  Kilbum  Peak. 

Falls  River,  154;  361;  394. 

Fallsmen.     See  River  Navigation. 

Farmington  (Tunxis)  River,  21;  83; 
364;  431;  433. 

Farnsworth,  David,  Indian  captive, 
245;  Ebenezer  Farnsworth,  Indian 
captive,  228,  229,  234,  236,  237,  239. 

Father  Rale's  War,  198;  201;  203; 
205;  212. 

Fay,  Jonas,  294;  296. 

Fenwick,  George,  67,  68,  72,  house  of 
on  Say  brook  Point,  72,  73;  his  wife. 
Lady  Fenwick,  73,  tomb  of  in  Say- 
brook,  73;  their  daughters,  Dorothy 
and  Elizabeth,  73. 

Ferries,  the  chain  ferry,  309;  ■'  Went- 
worth's  Ferry,"  246;  "  Wolcott's 
Ferry,"  434;  452. 

Field,  Rev.  David  Dudley,  460;  his 
sons.  Justice  Stephen  Johnson,  Da- 
vid Dudley,  Cyras  West,  and  Rev 
Henry  Martyn,  460,  his  daughter 
Emelia,  wife  of  Justice  Brewer, 
460. 

Field  family,  in  Haddam,  460. 

Fifteen-Miles  Falls,  225;  253;  315; 
317;  361;  353;  354;  373;  376;  from 
the  "great  eddy"  to  the  "pitch," 
377-378 

Figurative  Map,  the,  from  Adriaen 
Block's  data,  9;  10. 

First,  or  Connecticut,  Lake.  See  Con- 
necticut lakes. 


Fiske,  John,  38;  44;  50;  51;  70;  71; 
463;  455;  boyhood  home  and  early 
life  of  in  Middletown,  456-457;  born 
Edmund  Fiske  Green,  457;  John 
Fiske,  senior,  457. 

Fitch,  John,  inventor  of  the  steamboat, 
birthplace  of,  438.    See  Steamboats. 

Flatboat,  the.  See  River  Craft,  also 
River  Navigation. 

Fletcher,  Benjamin,  governor  of  New 
York,  440. 

Florence.     See  Northampton. 

"Flower  of  Essex."  See  Battle  of 
Bloody  Brook,  under  King  Philip's 
War. 

Flynt,  John,  in  Indian  massacre,  240. 

Foote,  Mary,  Indian  captive,  166. 

Fort  Bridgman,  238;  241. 

Fort  Dummer,  198;  200-201;  204;  205; 
truck-house  for  Indian  trade,  199, 
206,  211;  204;  205;  210;  in  the  Old 
French  War,  211,  212,  213;  407. 

Fort  Massachusetts,  211;  212;  214. 

Fort  "  No.  4,"  201;  in  the  Old  French 
War,  210,  212,  213,  214;  remarkable 
defence  of,  216-218;  224;  226;  in 
the  Last  French  War,  228,  229,  245, 
246,  247;  260;  261;  378;  386;  site  of, 
388. 

Fort  Pelham,  211. 

Fort  Shirley,  211. 

"Fortune,"  the  ship,  4;  9. 

Fossil  footprints,  369-361. 

Fourth  Lake.     See  Connecticut  lakes. 

Franklin,  Benjamm,  271;  461. 

Franklin  County,  394. 

French  and  Indian  Wars,  139;  162; 
347;  348;  353;  440.  See  Queen 
Anne's  War,  Father  Rale's  War, 
Old  French  War,  Last  French  War. 

Frontenac,  Count,  governor  of  Can- 
ada, 167. 

Frontiers.  See  New  England  frontiers. 

Fuller,  George,  398. 

"Fundamental  Orders  of  Connecti- 
cut," The,  50. 


472 


Connecticut  River 


Gaffield,    Benjamin,   in  Indian  mas- 
sacre, 240-241. 
Gallop,  Capt.  John,  in  the  "earliest 

sea-fight  of  the  nation,"  88;  111. 
"  Garden  of  New  England. " "    See  Coos 

country. 
Gardiner,  Lion,  30;  67;  sketch  of,  69; 
91;  in  the  Pequot  wars,  92,  93,  94, 
95,  97,  99,  100,  109. 
Gardner  range,  353;  377. 
General    Court,   Connecticut,  48;  49; 
50;   51;  59;  61;  65;  66;  75;  76;  96; 
war  declared  by  against  the  Pequots, 
97-98;  110;  305. 
General  Court,  Massachusetts,  41;  43; 

45;  47;  122;  139;  197;  205;  246. 
Gibbons,  William,  66. 
Gilbert,  John,  Indian  captive,  153. 
Gill,  359;   360;   361;  362;  named  for 
lieut. -governor  Moses  Gill,  394;  Riv- 
erside, 395. 
Glastonbury,  136;  365;  443;  Keeney's 
Cove,   449;    Glastonbury   Landing, 
451 ;  the  modern  town,  451^52. 
Glines,  Israel  and  John,  himters,  353. 
Gloucester    County,   264;  266;   266; 

290. 
Glover,  Rev.  Pelatiah,  133;  135. 
Goffe,   William,   the   "regicide,"    in 

Hadley,  117-119;  401-402. 
Goffe's,  Col.  John,  regiment,  245;  247; 

379. 
Gomez,  Estevan,  2. 
"Governor's  Gold  Ring,"  The,  458- 

459. 
Grafton  County,  261;  266;  290. 
Grant,  Samuel,  438;  his  son,  Matthew, 
438;  ancestor  of  Ulysses  S.  Grant, 
438. 
Grant  family,  in  Windsor  and  South 

Windsor,  437;  438. 
Gray  Lock,   Indian  chief,  202;  204; 

212;  248. 
Graylock,  mount,  202. 


Great  Falls,  The.    See  Bellows  Falls, 

and  Turner's  Falls. 
"  Great  Falls  Fight,"  The.     See  King 

Philip's  War. 
Great  Monadnock,  199. 
Great  Ox-Bow,  179;  203;  378;  379;  381. 
Green,  Edmund  Brewster,  457;    Ed- 
mund Fiske  Green,  see  Fiske,  John. 
Green  Mountains,  211;  246;  247;  255; 

257;  268;  264;  265;  288;  289;  290; 

291;   292;  299;  347;   348;   364;  357; 

362;  364;  375. 
"Green  Mountain  Boys,"  The,  255; 

286. 
Green  River,  154;  156;  182;  198;  362; 

394. 
Greenfield,  154;  160;  181;  182;  Green 

River  Farms,  198;  in  the  Old  French 

War,  212;  311;  321;  336;  341;  359; 

361;   362;  the  modem   town,  394- 

396. 
"Grif&n,"  the  ship,  40;  41. 
Grout,  Hilkiah,   in  Indian  massacre, 

240-241. 
GuildhaU,  352;  353;  374;  376. 

H 

Haddam,  80;  82;  366;  Goodspeed's 
Landing,  459;  the  modem  town, 
460-461. 

Hadley,  Arthur  T. ,  president  of  Yale 
College,  446. 

Hadley,  80;  81;  83;  in  King  Philip's 
War,  117,  118,  119,  120,  121,  122, 
123,  125,  126,  130,  132,  136,  137, 
138,  140,  146,  149,  150,  154,  157, 
158,  attack  on,  159,  160,  161;  166; 
204;  early  Hadley  boats  and  boat- 
men, 305;  362,  399;  the  modem 
town,  400-405;  the  Porter-Phelps- 
Huntington  homestead,  402,  403- 
405;  413;  419. 

Hadley  Falls.  See  South  Hadley 
Falls. 

Hale,  Rev.  Edward  Everett,  129;  Col. 
Enoch  Hale,  295-296;  Rev.  Enoch 


Index 


473 


Hale,  416;  Nathan  Hale,  statue  of, 
444;  echoolhouse  of  in  East  Haddam, 
460. 

Half-Way  Brook,  83. 

Hall's  Stream,  351;  367;  371. 

Hampden,  John,  20;  68;  69;  76. 

Hanover  257;  258;  259;  College  Dis- 
trict of  called  "Dresden,"  260;  261; 
262;  265;  268;  298;  337;  339;  364; 
855;  380;  382-385.  See  Dartmouth 
College,  and  Dresden. 

Hapgood,  Norman,  387. 

Hartford,  15;  begun  as  Newtown,  36, 
40;  named,  48;  49;  50;  61;  appear- 
ance of  in  1639,  57-58;  63;  64;  in 
the  Pequot  wars,  98,  100,  110,  111, 
112,  136,  152,  158,  160;  200;  early 
commerce  of,  307,  308;  transporta- 
tion centre,  310,  315,  316,  318,  319, 
320;  steamboating,  325,  330,  334, 
336,  337,  338,  339-341;  364;  401; 
402;  403;  432;  433;  434;  435;  the 
"  Charter  City,"  438-447;  Bushnell 
Park,  439,  445,  446;  Wadsworth 
Athenaeum,  443,  444;  Watkinson 
Library,  Hartford  Public  Library, 
444;  448;  456;  458;  462.  See  Con- 
necticut Historical  Society,  Con- 
necticut State  House,  Hartford 
Theological  Seminary,  and  Trinity 
College. 

Hartford,  Vermont,  269;  269;  278;  299; 
373;  385;  386. 

Hartford  Convention  of  1814,  407;  441. 

Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  446. 

Hartford  treaty  of  1650,  63. 

"  Hartford  Wits,"  The,  407;  441. 

Hartland,  260;  314;  315;  339;  356; 
386. 

Hastings,  John,  238. 

Hatfield,  80;  81;  in  King  Philip's  war, 
117,  120,  124,  129,  136,  137,  138, 
140,  141,  146,  attacks  on,  147,  151, 
153,  154,  156,  157  ;  captives  taken 
to  Canada,  165-166;  170;  174;  197; 
201;    204;   208;  in  the  Old  French 


War,  212;  362;  the  modem  town, 
399-400;  406;  414;  415. 

Haverhill,  225;  260;  262;  319;  354; 
355;  375;  378;  379;  proposed  site 
for  Dartmouth  College,  380  ;  Haver- 
hiU  Comer,  .380,  381. 

Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  settlers 
from,  260;  379. 

Haverhill  Academy,  380. 

Hawkes,  Maj.  John,  247. 

Hawley,  Maj.  Joseph,  407. 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,' 118. 

Haynes,  John,  40;  43;  44;  47;  48;  50; 
51;  governor  of  Connecticut,  57;  59; 
110. 

Hazen,  Capt.  John,  379. 

Hazlerig,  Sir  Arthur,  67;  76. 

Henchman,  Capt.  Samuel,  158;  159; 
160. 

Hendricksen,  Cornelis,  9;  12. 

Higginson,  Rev.  Francis,  73;  Rev. 
John  Higginson,  73;  Stephen  Hig- 
ginson, 312;  Thomas  Wentworth 
Higginson,  312. 

Higginson  family,  73. 

Hildreth,  Rev.  Hosea,  396;  Richard 
Hildreth,  birthplace  of,  397. 

Hillhouse,  Gen.  James,  321. 

Hilton,  Martha,  257. 

Hinsdale,  81;  83;  144;  153;  198;  207; 
219;  m  the  Last  French  War,  238, 
240,  241,  245;  322;  358;  391. 

Hinsdell,  Experience,  154;  156. 

Hitchcock,  Prof.  Charles  W.,  361; 
Deacon  Hitchcock,  397;  Dr.  Edward 
Hitchcock,  352;  354;  359;  360;  397- 
398,  418;  Mary  (Hoyt)  Hitchcock, 
397. 

Holland,  Dr.  Josiah  Gilbert,  312;  406; 
409;  419. 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  346;  397; 
Lieut.  William  Holmes,  20;  110. 

Holyoke,  Elizur,  419,  421 ;  Capt.  Sam- 
uel Holyoke,  156. 

Holyoke,  312;  341;  363;  419;  "Ireland 
Parish,"  420;   development  of   the 


474 


Connecticut  River 


hydraulic  works,  420-423;  Holyoke 
Water  Power  Company,  422;  the 
"Paper  City,"  422. 

Holyoke  range,  362. 

Home  Circle  Clubs,  417. 

Hooker,  Isabella  (Beecher),  446 ;  Gen. 
Joseph  Hooker,  birthplace  of,  402; 
Rev.  Thomas  Hooker,  journey  of 
with  his  congregation  through  the 
wilderness,  34-35;  in  Hartford,  39; 
40;  41;  42;  43;  47;  48;  49;  50;  51; 
letter  of  1638  to  John  Winthrop, 
senior,  52;  53-50;  73;  98;  440; 
grave  of,  445;  house  of,  445. 

Hopkins,  Edward,  governor  of  Con- 
necticut, 58,  402;  Dr.  Lemuel  Hop- 
kins, 441. 

Hopkins  Academy,  402. 

Horgers,  Hans,  4. 

Hosmer,  Aaron,  228;  229. 

Housatonic  River,  6;  161. 

House  of  Hope.  See  Dutch  House  of 
Hope. 

Howe,  Caleb,  in  Indian  massacre, 
240;  241;  Jemima  Howe,  the  "Fair 
Captive,"  2.38;  241;  391. 

Howells,  William  Dean,  390. 

Hoyt,  David,  Indian  captive,  397;  Gren. 
Epaphras,  321,  397;  Mary  Hoyt, 
175. 

Hubbard,  Rev.  William,  119;  120; 
125;  167. 

Hudson,  Henry,  2;  4. 

Hudson  River,  3;  4;  7;  12;  83;  84; 
109;  116;  161;  220;  253;  293;  294; 
206;  320;  321;  325. 

Humphreys,  Col.  David,  238;  441. 

Hunt,  Richard  Morris,  390;  William 
Morris  Hunt,  390. 

Hunters  in  the  Upper  Valley,  206. 

Huntington,  Arria  S.,  404;  Rev.  Dan 
Huntington,  404;  405;  Elizabeth 
(Phelps)  Huntington,  404;  405; 
Bishop  Frederic  Dan  Huntington, 
402;  403;  404;  405;  Joshua  H.  Hunt- 
ington, 349;  350. 


Hutchinson,  Rev.  Aaron,  269-270; 
Holmes  Hutchinson,  320;  Thomas 
Hutchinson,  118;  119;  399. 


Indian  deeds,  to  the  Dutch,  16,  19, 
59;  to  the  English,  59,  369. 

Indian  River,  348. 

Indian  Road,  206,  348. 

Indian  Stream,  368;  371. 

"Indian     Stream    Territory."      See 
Pittsburg. 

Indian  tribes,  Abenakis,  146;  167;  170; 
171;  183;  350;  Agawams,  83;  131; 
at  the  burning  of  Springfield,  132, 
134,  136,  150;  Caughnawagas,  188; 
201;  202;  Cooashankes,  350;  Five 
Nations,  83;  84;  Iroquois,  84;  Mac- 
quas,  171;  175;  181;  185;  187;  188 
204;  Mahicans,  7;  83;  84;  145;  161 
Mohawks,  7;  83;  84;  85;  145;  148 
155;  159;  161;  199;  203;  Mohegana, 
59;  84;  85;  98;  107;  conquered  Pe- 
quots  amalgamated  with.  111;  113 
117;  128;  136;  143;  145;  151;  158 
159;  383;  Narragansetts,  85;  87;  94 
96;  103;  104;  105;  110;  conquered  Pe- 
quots  amalgamated  with,  111;  113; 
116;  142-160;  breakup  of ,  160,  161; 
execution  of  chiefs  of  at  Boston  and 
Plymouth,  162;  165;  Nawaas,  7;  82; 
84;  Niantics,  84;  Nipmucks,  85;  114; 
127;  143;  144;  145;  146;  148;  breakup 
of,  160,  161;  Nonatucks,  83;  Penob- 
scots,  374;  Pequots,  7;  8;  14;  15;  19 
20;  48;  49:  59;  82;  84;  85;  87;  89 
90;  113;  114;  Pocumtucks,  83;  85 
120;  127;  136;  144;  145;  146;  148 
152;  breakup  of,  157;  161;  165;  Po- 
dunks,  83;  Quabaugs,  85;  St.  Fran- 
cis, 186;  212;  224;  village  of,  2-36; 
240;  destruction  of,  247-249;  374; 
378;  Sequins,  7;  12;  61;  82;  Tunxis, 
83;  Wampanoags,  113;  114;  116;  127; 
142;  143;  145;  160;  breakup  of,  161; 


Index 


475 


Warranokes.    83;   202;    Wongunks, 
82. 
Israel's  River,  322;   named  for  Israel 
Glines,  hunter,  353;  374. 


Jennings,  Stephen,  166-167;  191. 

John's  River,  353;  named  for  John 
Glines,  hunter,  353;  354. 

Johnson,  Col.  James,  227;  228;  229; 
230;  231;  234;  236;  237;  his  wife 
Susanna,  227;  her  "Narrative"  of 
the  Johnson  family  in  captivity, 
227-239;  her  birth  of  a  daughter, 
"Captive,"  during  the  march  to 
Canada,  231-232;  life  after  return 
from  captivity,  237-239;  244;  Cap- 
tive Johnson,  237;  239. 

Johnson  family  in  captivity,  Narrative 
of,  see  Johnson,  Susanna ;  monu- 
ment to,  and  their  fellow  captives, 
239. 

K 

Keep,  John,  and  his  wife  Sarah,  in 
Indian  massacre,  150. 

Kellogg,  Capt.  Josiah,  scout,  204. 

Kieft,  William,  director  of  New  Neth- 
erland,  60;  61;  62;  63. 

Kilbum,  John,  209;  210;  225;  "  Kil- 
burn's  Fight,"  241-244;  Kilburn 
Peak,  named  for,  241,  244. 

"Kilburn's  Fight,"  See  Kilburn, 
John. 

Kilburn  Peak  (first  Fall  Mountain), 
204;  named,  241,  244;  357;  388. 

King  Philip  (Metacomo),  113,  114; 
precipitation  of  the  war  of,  114-116; 
120;  123;  130;  131;  132;  133;  136; 
139;  142;  144;  145;  146;  147;  148; 
158;  160;  fate  of,  160-161;  King 
Philip,  an  up-country  chief,  .369. 

"King  Philip's  chair,"  130. 

King  Philip's  War,  81 ;  theatre  of  trans- 
ferred to  the  Connecticut  Valley, 
113;  Indians  concerned  in,  113-116; 


operations  in  the  Valley,  11.^163; 
Battle  of  Bloody  Brook,  125,  126- 
131,  154,  398;  rising  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts,  142-160;  Great  Falls  Fight, 
153-156,  1.57,  1.58,  395;  fate  of  the 
tribes  involved,  160-161;  results  to 
the  coloni-sts,  162;  165;  166;  202; 
203;  393;  402;  433;  440. 

King  William's  War,  164;  167. 

King's  Island,  364. 

Kipling,  Rudyard,  390. 

Knowles,  Sir  Charles,  218;  Charles- 
town  named  for,  218. 

Knowlton,  Luke,  289. 

Knox,  Gen.  Henry,  450. 


Labaree,  Peter,  Indian  captive,  229; 

230;  232;  233;  235;  2-36;  237;  239. 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  431. 
Lake  Champlain,  186;  202;  203;  206; 

235;  249;  253;  266;  321;  348;  454. 
Lake  Memphremagog,  250;  320;  322; 

348. 
Lancaster,   322;     353;    374-376;    .377; 

378. 
Lancaster,    Massachusetts,    116;    144; 

settlers  from,  209,  210,  375;  238. 
Lancaster  Academy,  376. 
Last  French  War,  196;  198;  223;  224; 

225;  227-251;  386;  408. 
Leamington,  352;  372;  373. 
Lebanon,    2.59;    267;    293;    355;    356; 

373;  385;  386. 
Lebanon,  Connecticut,  259;  382. 
Lechf  ord,  Thomas,  72. 
Ledyard,  John,  pioneer  navigator  of 

the  Upper  Connecticut,  337;   384- 

385. 
Lee,  (jerald  Stanley,  418. 
Leverett,  John,  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, 118;  131;  137;  138;  139. 
Leyden  hills,  182. 
Little  Sugar  River,  356. 
Littleton,  377. 


476 


Connecticut  River 


Littleton  hills,  377. 

Livingstone,  Capt.  John,  191. 

Locks  and  Canals,  310;  311 ;  first 
works  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  312- 
314;  Turner's  Falls  canal,  314,  321, 
396;  Bellows  Falls  canal,  311,  314, 
336,  337;  Water-Queeche  (Sumner's 
Falls)  canal,  314,  337,  339;  Enfield 
canal,  315,  322,  323,  324,  430;  river 
life  under  the  canal  system,  315- 
316,  317,  318;  projects  for  extending 
the  system,  318-322;  rival  interests, 
319,  320,  321,  322,  323;  passing  of 
the  system,  324. 

Logging,  372. 

Long  Island  Sound,  6;  7;  8;  17;  64; 
69;  70;  74;  88;  322;  341;  345;  346; 
347;  352;  359;  365;  366;  448;  462. 

Longmeadow,  133;  in  King  Philip's 
War,  149-151;  193;  334;  363;  429. 

Longmeadow  Brook,  363. 

'•Lords  and  Gentlemen,"  The,  19;  20; 
25;  29;  30;  31;  32;  33;  45;  46;  67; 
69;  71;  72;  79;  97;  431. 

Lothrop,  Capt.  Thomas,  117;  120; 
125;  in  the  Battle  of  Bloody  Brook, 
126-131;  fall  of,  128. 

"  Lost  Dauphin  of  France. ' '  See  Wil- 
liams, Eleazar,  claim  of. 

Lotteries,  state,  313-314;  425;  441. 

Ludlow,  Roger,  45;  46;  47;  50;  51; 
110,  431. 

Lower  Coos.     See  Coos  Country. 

Loudon,  Earl  of,  247. 

Low,  Richard,  66. 

Lunenburg,  353;  374;  376;  378. 

Lunenburg,  Massachusetts,  settlers 
from,  209;  375. 

Lunenburg  range,  375. 

Luther,  Flavel  S.,  president  of  Trinity 
College,  446. 

Lyman,  273. 

Lyman,  Capt.  Caleb,  scout,  179;  203. 

Lyman  family,  in  Northampton,  408; 
409. 

Lyme,  Connecticut,  80;  260;  366;  Had- 


lyme     Landing,     459;     Hamburgh 
Landing,  459;  Lyme  Landing,  459. 

Lyme,  New  Hampshire,  260;  262;  382. 

Lyon,  Mary,  419. 

M 

McCuUock,  Henry,  of  Shays's  rebel- 
lion, 415. 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babington,  68. 

Macdonough,  Commodore  Thomas, 
333,  454. 

Mclndoe's  Falls,  354. 

Macquas.     See  Indian  Tribes. 

Madockawando,  Indian  chief,  167. 

Mahicans.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Maidstone,  253;  373;  374. 

Manhattan,  3;  4;  5;  6;  9;  12;  13;  16; 
17;  23;  31;  41;  109. 

Marsh,  Col.  Joseph,  lieut. -governor  of 
Vermont,  278. 

Mascomy  River,  355. 

Mason,  Capt.  John,  96;  97;  commander 
in  the  second  Pequot  expedition,  98; 
sketch  of,  98;  100;  his  plan  of  cam- 
paign, 101-102;  102-106;  his  Narra- 
tive quoted,  106-107;  108;  109;  110; 
114;  306;  431;  440. 

Mason  Grant  and  Mason  fine,  273;  277 
281;  283;  290;  292;  294. 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College, 
417. 

Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  13;  16;  17; 
20;  24;  26;  32;  33;  34;  35;  37;  seces- 
sion of  river  towns  from,  38;  40;  ju- 
risdiction over  the  river    country, 
45;  46;  47;  48;  51;  52;  64;  73;  80;  81 
87;  90;  96;  109;  110;  115;  117;  137 
143;   145;   149;  150;  151;  158;  166 
169;   199;  211;  225;  226;  246;   257 
281;  285;  287;  trading  ships  of  Bay 
men  on  the  river,  304. 

Massachusetts  patent,  32;  41;  52;  55. 

Massachusetts  Reach,  The,  113;  201; 
211;  303;  311;  339;  358-363;  372; 
towns  in,  392-429;  cities  in,  406- 
429;  first  bridge  in,  425. 


Index 


477 


Massasoit,  Indian  chief,  113. 

Mather,  Rev.  Cotton,  40;  Rev.  Eleazer 
Mather,  170,  183,  406,  410,  house 
of,  410;  Rev.  Increase  Mather,  119, 
127. 

Maverick,  Samuel,  438. 

Mead,  Edwin  Doak,  390;  391;  Elinor 
(Mead)  Howells,  390;  Larkin  Gold- 
smith Mead,  390;  William  Ruther- 
ford Mead,  390. 

Mead  family  in  Brattleborough  and 
Chesterfield,  390. 

Melvin,  Capt.  Eleazer,  scout,  215. 

Merrimack  River,  199;  201;  205;  207; 
213;  247;  252;  318. 

Metacomo.     See  King  Philip. 

Metallak,  Indian  chief,  350. 

Miantonomo,  Indian  chief,  85;  89; 
103;  110;  142;  152. 

Middle  Haddam,  365;  the  Landing, 
459. 

Middlesex  Canal,  318. 

Middletown,  7;  80;  81;  Indian  name 
of,  82;  307;  333;  360;  365;  404;  Mid- 
dletown Landing,  452;  458;  the  mod- 
ern rural  city,  452^58;  "Lower 
Houses"  and  "Upper  Houses," 
454;  old-time  shipbuilding  and  com- 
merce of,  454-455;  459. 

Mill  River,  Northampton,  362,  417, 
418;  Mill  River,  Springfield,  363. 

Miller,  Thomas,  in  Indian  massacre, 
134. 

Miller's  River,  121;  321;  359;  361;  394. 

Minuit,  Peter,  director-general  of  New 
Netherland,  13,  18;  20. 

Missisquoi  Bay,  202;  248. 

Mohawk  River,  352. 

Mohawks.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Mohegans.    See  Indian  tribes. 

Monadnock,  358. 

Mouadnock,  Vermont's,  352;  373. 

Monroe,  354;  377. 

Montague,  Johannes  La,  60. 

Montague,  121;  335;  361;  named  for 
Capt.  William  Montague,  395. 


Montigny,  Sieur  de,  177;  178. 

Montreal,  170,  186;  187;  188;  190; 
216;  236,  237;  239;  247. 

Moody,  Dwight  Lyman,  392. 

Moor  Indian  Charity  School,  259;  382. 

Moore,  Capt. ,  and  son,  in  Indian  mas- 
sacre, 246;  family  of,  Indian  cap- 
tives, 245. 

Moosilauk,  365;  379. 

Morey,  Gen.  Israel,  275;  332;  Samuel 
Morey,  inventor  of  the  steamboat, 
see  Steamboats. 

Morris,  Gen.  Lewis  B.,  311. 

Moseley,  Capt.  Samuel,  117;  125;  128; 
129;  130;  137;  138;  139;  140;  146; 
147;  166. 

Mount  Adams,  154. 

Mount  Ascutney,  231;  365;  356;  373; 
386. 

Mount  Bowback,  373. 

Mount  Carmel,  367 . 

Mount  Cuba,  355. 

Mount  Hermon  School,  392. 

Mount  Holyoke,  362;  363;  406;  418; 
naming  of,  419;  421. 

Mount  Holyoke  College,"417;  419. 

Mount  Prospect,  348. 

Mount  Toby,  Indian  name  of,  361; 
362;  399. 

Mount  Tom,  362;  406;  418;  naming  of, 
419. 

Momit  Warner,  403; 

Mystic  River,  70;  84;  105. 


N 


Nahant,     Massachusetts,     visited    by 

Adriaen   Block,  9;     "Cold    Roast 

Boston,"  10. 
Narragansett  Bay,  explored  by  Adriaen 

Block,  8,  102;  107;  116. 
Narragansett   country.  The,  94;  100; 

101;   113;  136;  142;  143;   148;  151; 

160. 
Narragansetts.     See  Indian  tribes. 
Navigation.     See  River  Navigation. 


478 


Connecticut  River 


Nawaas.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Netawanute  (or  Altarbaenhoot),  Ind- 
ian chief,  20. 

Neal,  Hubartes,  253. 

New  Amsterdam,  13;  57;  63;  64;  304. 

New    Connecticut,    268;    Dartmouth 
College  and  state-making,  258-300 
name  of  adopted  for  new  state,  266 
267 ;     Vermont    substituted,    268 
290. 

New  England  colonies,  113;  162. 

New  England  Confederacy,  The,  55. 

New  England  frontiers,  116,  303,  348, 
349. 

New  England,  great  patent  for,  11; 
17,  18;  Lords  and  gentlemen's  pat- 
ent, 19. 

New  Hampshire  Antiquarian  Society 
333. 

New  Hampshire,  province,  209,  bound 
ary  issue  with  Massachusetts,  208 
210,  211;  controversy  over  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants,  220-223,  253 
254-256,  257;  Provincial  Congress 
260, 261 ;  state  government  and  state 
making  conflicts,  264,  266,  268,  270 
272,  275,  276,  277,  278,  279,  281 
282,  283,  284,  287,  289,  291,  292, 
293,  295,  296,  298,  299,  300;  314 
315;  320;  322;  347;  370;  372. 

New  Hampshire  Grants,  The,  219 
controversies  over,  220-223,  254- 
267;  terms  of  the  township  charters 
253-254;  War  of  the  Grants,  255. 
256;  schemes  for  a  state  on,  257 
258,  259,  260,  264,  272,  273,  279, 
280.  282,  284;  287;  288;  291;  293 
295;  308. 

New  Haven,  canal  projects  of  in  con- 
nection with  the  Connecticut,  319 
320;  321;  322;  323;  359;  390;  450. 

New  Haven  Colony,  30;  71. 

New  London  (Pequot)  Harbor,  93 
101;  107;  108;  109;  110. 

New  Netherland,  10;  11;  17;  21;  22 
56;  60;  61;  63;  64;  71. 


New  Plymouth,  a,  on  the  Connecticut 
planned,  28;  29. 

New  York,  2;  6;  19;  69;  71;  139;  con- 
troversy over  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  220-223;  253,  254-256;  257; 
268;  264;  266;  266;  276;  285;  286; 
287;  288;  289;  290;  291;  292;  293; 
294;  299;  321. 

Newbury,  179;  203;  260;  284;  299;  308; 
318;  365;  378;  379;  380;  381. 

Newbury,  Massachusetts,  settlers  from, 
260,  379. 

Newbury  Seminary,  380. 

Niantics.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Nipmucks.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Niverville,  Ensign  de,  213. 

Nixon,  Capt.,  151. 

Nonatucks.     See  Indian  tribes. 

"  No.  4."  See  Fort  No.  4  and  Charles- 
town. 

North  Charlestown,  356. 

Northampton,  80;  83;  in  King  Philip's 
War,  117,  119,  120,  123,  126,  128, 
131,  136,  137,  138,  140,  141,  attack 
on,  146-147,  151,  154,  157,  158;  177; 
178;  179;  183;  200;  203;  204;  in  the 
Old  French  War,  212;  boats  and 
boatmen  of,  305;  311;  312;  319;  320; 
321;  322;  323;  336;  341;  360;  362;  the 
"Meadow  City,"  406-418;  Ely's 
insurrection  and  Shays's  rebellion, 
411-416;  an  educational  centre, 
417;  "Paradise,"  418;  Florence, 
418;  436;  437;  461. 

Northampton  Association  of  Education 
and  Industry,  418. 

Northfield,  80;  81;  83;  in  King  Philip's 
War,  116,  117,  120,  121,  122,  123, 
124;  126,  127,  131,  136,  138,  144; 
162;  179;  198;  199;  200;  203;  204; 
206;  209;  in  the  Old  French  War, 
210,  211,  212,  215;  219;  316;  322; 
335;  359;  the  modern  town,  392-393. 

Northfield  Seminary,  392. 

Northumberland,  225;  253;  352;  353; 
373,  374. 


Index 


479 


Norton,  Capt.     See  Stone  and  Norton. 

Norwich,  259;  265;  266;  289;  299;  Ver- 
mont Assembly  at,  299;  354;  355; 
382;  385;  455. 

Norwich  University,  385. 

"Nothingarians."  See  Northampton 
Association  of  Education  and  Indus- 
try. 

Nulhegan  River,  348;  353;  374. 

Nutt,  Capt.  Samuel,  up-river  navigator, 
338. 

O 

Occum,  Samson,  383. 

Olcott,  Col.  Peter,  287;  288;  289. 

Olcott  Falls,  385. 

"  Old  Albany  Road,"  The,  396,  397. 

"Old  French  War,"  The,  196;  210- 

218;  cordon  of  forts,  211;  220;  403. 
Old  Lead  Mine,  The,  458. 
Old  Lyme.     See  Lyme. 
"  Old  patent  of  Connecticut,"  The,  19. 
Old  Saybrook.     See  Saybrook. 
"  Old  Seth  Hapgood,"  317. 
Oldham,  John,  17;  18;  35;  88;  89;  90. 
Oneko,  Indian  chief,  151;  162;  158. 
Onrust.     See  Restless,  The. 
Orford,  260;   262;  275;  325;    Morey's 

steamboat  at,  330;  332;  333;  364; 

381. 
Op  Dyck,  Gysbert,  57;  58;  59;  60;  63. 
Orson,  Indian  chief,  4. 
Otter  Creek,  206;  206;  234;  348. 


Page,  David,  375;  Dr.  William  Page, 

296,  311,  314. 
Palfrey,  John  Gorham,  34. 
Parker,  Isaac,  Indian  captive,  246. 
Parkman,  Rev.  Francis,  397;  his  son 

Francis  Parkman,  397. 
Park  River,  364;  440. 
Parmenter,  Jason,  of  Shays's  rebellion, 

415. 
Partridge,  Col.  Samuel,  177;  201;  400; 

406;  407. 


Partridge's,  Capt.  Alden,  military 
school,  385;  455. 

Passacufi,  Indian  chief,  152;  153;  158; 
169. 

Passumpsic  River,  348;  354;  377;  378. 

Patrick,  Capt.,  109. 

Payne,  Col.  Elisha,  262;  293;  295. 

Payne's,  John,  tavern,  272. 

Pecowsic  Brook,  150;  363. 

Pemigewasset  River,  318. 

Pequot  River.     See  Thames  River. 

Pequot  country.  The,  70;  109;  110. 

Pequot  Harbor.  See  New  London 
Harbor. 

Pequots.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Pequot  Wars,  63;  59;  64;  90;  account 
of,  91-112;  adoption  of  war  meas- 
ures by  the  Connecticut  Colony,  97- 
98;  the  "army"  from  the  three 
River  towns,  08;  route  of  march 
into  the  enemy's  country,  102-105 
burning  of  the  Indian  fort,  105-107 
break-up  of  the  tribe,  109-111;  114 
143;  304;  306;  440. 

Percy  Peaks,  373;  "  land  pilot  hills," 
375. 

Perry's  Stream,  371. 

Peter,  Rev.  Hugh,  29;  30;  31. 

Peters,  Samuel,  357. 

Petersham,  Massachusetts,  settlers 
from,  375. 

Phelpes  (Phelps)  William,  46;  51. 

Phelps,  Charles,  403;  Capt.  Davenport 
Phelps,  284;  Elizabeth  (Porter) 
Phelps,  403;  405. 

Philip  of  the  Wampanoags.  See  King 
Philip.  Philip,  Indian  spy,  240-243; 
Philip  an  up-country  chief,  see 
King  Philip. 

Philip's  War.     See  King  Philip's  War. 

Piermont,  225;  273;  355;  381. 

Pitkin,  Martha,  432,  her  marriage  to 
Simon  Wolcott  "  a  romance  of  the 
Colony,"  432,  433;  William  Pitkin, 
432. 

Pittsburg,  367;  368;  the  original  Indian 


480 


Connecticut  River 


Stream  Territory,  an  independent 
forest  state,  368,  369-371;  border 
war  of  a  single  battle,  370-371; 
372. 

Plainfleld,  386;  387. 

Plymouth  Colony,  1;  12;  13;  first  move 
of  to  plant  on  the  Connecticut,  14; 
exploration  by  Edward  Winslow, 
15-16;  trading  partnership  proposed 
to  the  Bay  Colony,  16-17;  18;  estab- 
lishment on  the  River,  20-21;  con- 
troversy with  Dorchester  leaders, 
26-29;  98;  110;  113;  115;  149;  161; 
161. 

Plymouth  Great  Meadow,  25. 

Plymouth  Trading  House,  20;  21;  22; 
24;  25;  26;  28;  37;  303;  site  of,  431. 

Plympton,  "old  sergeant,"  burned  at 
the  stake,  166. 

Pococatuck  River,  104. 

Pocumtuck  (Deerfield),  Indian  village, 
relief  fleet  of  corn-laden  canoes  from, 
306. 

Pocumtuck  Path,  The,  127;  154. 

Pocumtuck  Valley  Memorial  Associa- 
tion, 182;  197;  395;  398. 

Pocumtucks.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Podunk  River,  7;  364. 

Podunks.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Polemen.     See  River  Navigation. 

Pomeroy,  Gen.  Seth,  408. 

Pomeroy  family,  in  Northampton,  408. 

Poole,  Capt.,  140. 

Porter,  Col.  EUsha,  413,  414;  Elizabeth 
(Pitkin)  Porter,  403,  405;  Capt. 
Moses  Porter,  403,  404. 

Portland,  82;  365;  Portland  Landing, 
452;  the  quarries  at,  452;  old  time 
shipbuilding,  452. 

Powers,  Capt.  Peter,  224. 

"Praying  Indians,"  The,  115;  116. 

Prentice,  George  D.,  441;  442. 

Prescott,  Benjamin,  312. 

Prince,  Thomas,  98. 

Provoost,  David,  61;  62. 

Putnam,  Gen.  Israel,  237,  238;  Seth 


Putnam,  in  Indian  massacre,  213, 
214. 

Putnam's  Monthly,  194;  Putnam's 
Magazine,  196. 

Putney,  199;  208;  fort  at,  210;  in  the 
Old  French  War,  212,  213;  219;  285; 
286;  289;  388. 

Pym,  John,  20;  67. 

Pynchon,  William,  36,  43,  44,  46,  47, 
49,  51,  52,  55,  98,  114,  304,  305,  424, 
431;hisson,Maj.  John  Pynchon,  114, 
131,  132,  135,  136,  137,  house  of  in 
Sprmgfield,  133,  134,  136;  forced 
march  of  at  the  burning  of  Spring- 
field, 136-136,  141,  150,  305,  406. 


Quaboag  River,  363. 
Quaboags.     See  Indian  tribes. 
Quebec,  167;  173;  189;  190;  191;  237. 
Queechee  Falls.     See  Sumner  Falls. 
Queeche  River,  356. 
Queen  Anne's  War,   139-    164;    179; 
193;  198;  203. 

R 

Rangers.     See  Scouting  parties. 

"  Rebecca,"  the  ship,  34. 

Reed,  Thomas,  Indian  captive,  153. 

"  Regicides,"  The.  See  Goffe,  Wil- 
liam, and  Whalley,  Edward. 

"  Restless,"  The,  Adriaen  Block's 
American  built  yacht,  1;  5;  6;  12. 

Revolution,  The,  246;  251;  256;  257; 
258;  269;  270;  274;  297;  308;  309; 
310;  outposts  on  the  River,  374;  379; 
381;  395;  407;  408;  411;  429,  444; 
450;  451;  452;  455;  458;  459;  461. 

Rhode  Island,  8;  64;  65;  71;  110;  114; 
139;  149;  151;  257. 

Rice,  John  L.,  258. 

River  craft:  the  Indian's  canoe,  303, 
306;  the  earliest  Dutch  ships,  304; 
earliest  English  ships,  304;  the  river- 
built   flatboat,  303,  305,   306,  307- 


Index 


481 


308;  the  colonists'  canoe,  306;  early 
shipbuilding,  306-307 ;  lumber  rafts, 
308;  perfected  type  of  freight-boat, 
316,  323,  324.     See  Steamboats. 

"River  gods,"  315;  406. 

River  Indians.  See  Indian  tribes. 
Sachems  visit  Plymouth  and  Boston, 
14,  16;  exiled  sachem  restored  to 
his  domain,  20. 

River  Navigation,  by  the  Indians,  303; 
earliest  by  white  men,  303,  304; 
river-built  vessels  early  engaged  in, 
306-307;  systems  of  up-river  trans- 
portation, 308;  "poling"  and  pole- 
men,  307-308,  315-316;  fallsmen, 
317;  318;  319;  freight  towing  busi- 
ness, 341;  packets  and  steam  pro- 
pellers, 341;  modeni  head  of  navi- 
gation, 341.  See,  Steam  boating, 
River  craft,  and  River  trade. 

River  trade,  earliest  by  the  Dutch, 
304;  by  Plymouth  and  Bay  men, 
304;  traffic  with  the  Indians,  305; 
early  foreign  trade,  307;  308;  310; 
316. 

Robbins,  Thomas,  Indian  captive,  245. 

Roaring  Brook,  365;  452. 

Rochambeau,  Count  de,  444;  450. 

Rockingham,  219;  356;  388. 

Rocky  Hill,  365;  452. 

Roesen,  Jan  Hendricksen,  60. 

Rogers,  Maj.  Robert,  246;  247;  expe- 
dition of  against  the  St.  Francis  In- 
dians, 247-251;  353;  375;  378. 

Rogers's  Rangers.  See  Rogers,  Maj. 
Robert. 

Round  Island,  378. 

Rouville,  Hertel  de,  170,  171,  172, 
174,  178,  181,  186,  191;  Lieut,  de 
Rouville,  171,  175. 

Rowlandson,  Mary,  144;  158;  393. 

Russell,  Rev.  John,  117,  house  of 
where  the  "  regicides  ''  were  con- 
cealed, 118,  401-402,  403;  Samuel 
Russell,  166. 

Ryegate,  364;  Scotch  settlers  of,  378. 


S 


Sabetha  River,  365. 

Saint-Castin,  Baron  de  (Jean  Vincent), 
167;  168. 

St.  Francis  Indians.  See  Indian 
tribes. 

St.  Francis  River,  201;  224;  348. 

St.  Gaudens,  Augustas,  .387;  420. 

St.  Lawrence  River,  186;  201;  348. 

Sahnon  River,  .360;  460. 

Saltonstall,  Gurdon,  governor  of  Con- 
necticut, 79,  451;  Sir  Richard  Sal- 
tonstall, 20,  25,  32,  33,  79. 

Sassacus,  Indian  chief,  85;  87;  93;  99; 
fort  of,  104;  109;  110;  death  of,  HI. 

Savage,  James,  18;  Maj.  Thomas  Sav- 
age, 144,  146,  149,  1.50,  151. 

Saxton's  River,  205;  357. 

Say  and  Sele,  Lord,  20;  40;  48;  68; 
69;  71;  72. 

Saybrook,  67;  named,  69;  site  of  Yale 
College,  76.  See  Saybrook  Fort 
and  Saybrook  Point. 

Saybrook  Collegiate  School,  76;  78. 

Saybrook  Fort,  31;  33;  34;  37;  .54; 
early  history  of,  67-79;  sites  of,  74; 
79;  in  the  Pequot  wars,  91,  93-101, 
109. 

Saybrook  Platform,  The,  78-79;  firet 
book  printed  in  the  Connecticut 
Colony,  79. 

Saybrook  Point,  19;  Dutch  arms  dis- 
played on,  19;  30;  occupied  for  the 
"  Lords  and  Gentlemen,"  31;  67;  72; 
73;  75;  76;  366;  459;  462. 

Scantic  River,  7;  340;  364;  432. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  118. 

Scouting  parties  in  French  and  Indian 
wars,  202-203;  204-205;  214;  215; 
246,  247-251. 

Sea-fight,  earliest  of  the  nation,  88-89. 

Secession  of  the  river  towns  from  Mas- 
sachusetts, 37;  38;  48;  51. 

Second  Lake.     See  Connecticut  lakes. 

Sequasson,  Indian  chief,  69. 


482 


Connecticut  River 


Sequins.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Shackspeer,  Uzackaby,  in  Indian  mas- 
sacre, 131. 

Shays's  Rebellion,  400;  scheme  of, 
411-412;  acts  of  iu  Northampton, 
415-416,  in  Springfield,  425-428; 
leaders  in,  Daniel  Shays,  426,  427, 
428,  Luke  Day,  427,  428,  Eli  Par- 
sons, 427,  428;  leaders  against,  Gen. 
William  Shepard,  426,  427,  428, 
Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln,  427,  428; 
429. 

Sheldon,  George,  83,  85,  118,  120, 124, 
127,  130,  144,  170,  171,  175,  180, 
395,  397;  Hannah  (Chapin)  Sheldon, 
170,  174,  191,  197,  420;  En.sign  John 
Sheldon,  house  of  in  the  "  Sack  of 
Deerfield,"  168,  169,  170,  173,  174, 
175,  192,  396,  expeditions  of  for  re- 
demption of  captives,  191, 197;  John, 
son  of  Ensign  John,  170,  174,  175. 

Sheldon  family  in  Deerfield,  170. 

Sheldon  Rock,  321. 

Shirley,  William,  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 215;  224. 

Sigoumey,  Lydia  Huntley,  129;  442. 

Sims's  Stream,  352. 

Slade,  William,  290. 

Sluys,  Hans  den,  19;  31. 

Smead's  Island,  155;  160. 

Smith,  Austin,  400;  Dr.  Elihu  Smith, 
441;  Capt.  John  Smith,  10;  11 ;  Oliver 
Smith,  400;  Sophia  Smith,  400, 
417. 

Smith  family  in  Hatfield,  400. 

Smith  Academy,  400. 

Smith  Charities,  400. 

Smith  College,  400;  406;  408;  416- 
417;  418. 

Smyth.  Henry,  46. 

Sorel  River,  186. 

South  Deerfield,  126;  129;  362;  398. 

South  Glastonbury  365;  the  Landing, 
452. 

South  Hadley,  341;  362;  363;  413; 
417;  419. 


South  Hadley  Falls,  83;  311;  312-313; 
363;  420-422. 

South  Lancaster,  377. 

South  Vernon,  391. 

South  Windsor,  7;  82;  364;  432; 
"Windsor  Farmes,''  432;  home  of 
Roger  Wolcott,  432;  birthplace  of 
Jonathan  Edwards,  432,  434-435; 
birthplace  of  John  Fitch,  438;  birth- 
place of  Eli  Terry,  438. 

Sowheag,  Indian  chief,  59;  82. 

Springfield,  18;  36;  46;  47;  49;  51;  52; 
55;  80;  81;  83;  98;  114;  116;  in  King 
Philip's  War,  117,  131,  burning  of, 
132-137,  138,  139,  141,  142,  149, 
150,  151,  154,  156,  170,  179;  early 
navigation  to,  303,  304,  305,  310; 
311;  312;  317;  322;  323;  334;  337; 
338;  363;  388;  406;  407;  Ely's  insur- 
rection, 413,  414,  415; 419; 420; 423; 
the  "  Queen  City,"  423-429;  Shays's 
rebellion,  425-429;  Art  Museum, 
429;  City  Library,  305,  429;  United 
States  Arsenal,  312,  363,  423,  427, 
428,  429. 

Springfield,  Vermont,  206;  246;  311; 
.348;  356;  386;  387;  388. 

Squakheags.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Squakheags'  country,  The,  122;  Indian 
rendezvous  in  King  Philip's  War, 
144-148,  151,  160. 

Stark,  Gen.  John,  246;  247;  Capt. 
William  Stark,  246. 

Steamboats,  322;  324;  Connecticut 
Valley  inventors  of  before  Fulton: 
John  Fitch,  325,  326-329,  Samutl 
Morey,  325,  326,  329-333;  trial  trips 
of  Morey's  steamboat  on  the  River, 
330,  382;  fate  of  his  boat,  332-333; 
first  steamboats  in  regular  service, 
333;  attempts  at  up-river  navigation, 
322,  333-339;  a  song  of  triumph, 
338;  relays  of  steamboats  between 
Hartford  and  Wells  River,  338-339; 
Springfield  and  Hartford  line,  337, 
339-341;    Dickens's   "  voyage "   on 


Index 


483 


the    "Massachusetts,"     340;     the 

"  Hartford  Line,"  341,  448,  449. 
Stebbins,  Asahel,  in  Indian  massacre, 

245,  his  wife  an  Indian  captive,  245; 

Sergt.  Benoni  Stebbins,  166,  house 

of  in  the  "Sack  of  Deerfield,"  168, 

174-175,  395,  396;  Edward  Stebbins, 

153. 
Steele,  John,  46. 
Stevens,  Capt.  Phinehas,  the  ' '  liero  of 

No.  4,"  212;  213;  214;  his  remark- 

ble  defence  of  No.  4,  215-218;  224; 

228;  230. 
Stewartstown,  345;  351;  371;    named 

for  John  Stewarts,  372;  373. 
Stiles,    Dr.    Ezra,   president   of   Yale 

College,  119;  Francis  Stiles,  25,  29, 

431;  Dr.  Heuiy  R.  Stiles,  432. 
Stiles  Party,  The,  29;  32. 
Stockwell,  Quintin,  124;  165;  166;  167. 
Stockwell  Fort,  124;  125;  165. 
Stoddard,      Anthony,      200;      Esther 

(Mather)  Stoddard,   183,   410;    Col. 

John  Stoddard,  169,  193,  200,  212, 

407,  house  of,  409-410;  Rev.  Solomon 

Stoddard,  119;  139,   169,  200,  406, 

house  of,  409-410,  436,  437. 
Stone,   Rev.  Samuel,    35;  40;  41;  48; 

chaplain  in  the  second  Pequot  war, 

98,  101. 
Stone  and   Norton,   Capts.,  massacre 

of,  86;  87;  91;  93. 
Stoughton,    Abigail    (Edwards).   438; 

Edwin   W.    Stoughton,    457;    Capt. 

Israel  Stoughton,  110,  114;  John  A. 

Stoughton,     434,    435,    436;    Mary 

(Fiske)     Green     Stoughton,      457; 

Thomas  Stoughton,    437,    his    son 

Thomas,  437. 
Stoughton   family    in   the   Windsors, 

437;  438;  457. 
Stoughton's  Brook,  364. 
Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  446. 
Strait  Hills  range,  459. 
Straits,  The,  365;  458;  459. 
Stratford,  373;  named,  374. 


Strong,  Caleb,  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, 407. 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  director  of  New 
Netherlands.  63;  64. 

Suftiekl,  80;81;  199;  430. 

Sugar  River,  318;  356;  387. 

Sugarloaf,  120;  130;  362;  398;  399. 

Sullivan,  Gen.  John,  289;  299. 

Sumner's  Falls,  251;  314;  337;  339; 
356. 

Sunderland,  121;  361;  395;  named  for 
Earl  of  Sunderland,  399. 

Swain,  Capt.  Jeremiah,  158;  159;  160; 
161. 

Swaine,  William,  46. 

Swift  River,  363. 

Symes,  Capt.  William,  223. 


Talcott,  Lieut.-col.,  435;  Major  John 
Talcott,  120,  158,  159,  160;  John 
Talcott,  48. 

Talcott  range,  364;  447. 

Tattoebimi,  Indian  chief,  19;    20;  82. 

Taylor,  Capt.  John,  178. 

Terry,  Eli,  438. 

Thames  (Pequot)  River,  7;  8;  84;  93; 
100;  112. 

Thetford,  260;  265;  299;  382. 

Third  Lake.     See  Connecticut  lakes. 

Thomas,  Rowland,  419. 

Thompsonville,  317  ;  430. 

Ticonderoga,  237  ;  266  ;  270  ;  271. 

"Tiger,"  the  ship,  4;  11. 

Tilly,  Joseph,  tortured  by  the  Indians, 
95. 

Tobacco  culture,  399;  430;  438;  first 
American  made  cigars,  447,  450,  451. 

Toto,  friendly  Indian,  133;  135. 

Trails,  between  Canada  and  New  Eng- 
land, 347;  348;  353  ;  the  old  Indian 
trail  to  Maine,  374. 

Treat,  Maj.,  114;  117;  122;  123; 
128  ;  130  ;  132  ;  133  ;  135  ;  136  ; 
140 ;  143  ;  146  ;  147  ;  161. 


484. 


Connecticut  River 


Trinity  College,  445-446  ;  456. 

Trambull,  Benjamin,  34,  70 ;  James 
Russell  Trumbull,  419  ;  John  Trum- 
bull, 441  ;  Jonathan  Trambull,  450  ; 
J.  Hammond  Trambull,  50,  52,  82, 
84. 

Tunxis.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Tunxis  River.    See  Farmington  River. 

Turner,  Capt.  William,  146 ;  147  ;  151 ; 
153-156  ;  395  ;  grave  of,  156  ;  Tur. 
ner's  Falls  named  for,  156  ;  158. 

Turner,  Praisever,  in  Indian  massacre, 
131. 

Turner's  Falls,  Indian  fishing  place, 
163 ;  scene  of  the  "  Great  Falls 
Fight,"  153-156;  160;  locking  of, 
311;  314;  328;  338;  339;    361;   365. 

Tweenhuysen,  Lambrecht  van,  11. 

Twichell,  Daniel,  in  Indian  massacre, 
240. 

Twichell's  Rock,  240. 

Tyler,  Royal,  389. 


U 


Uncas,  Indian  chief,  59  ;  84  ;  85 ;  98  ; 

99 ;  107  ;  1 13  ;  Uncas,  son  of  Uncas, 

117;  128;  152. 
Underbill,  Capt.  John,  64  ;  seizure  of 

the  Dutch  House  of  Hope  by,  64-65  ; 

91;   96;   97;   99;    100;    105;    107; 

108  ;  109  ;  114. 

United  Colonies,  16  ;  61 ;  63  ;  64  ;  142. 

United  Committees.  See  College  Party. 

United  Inhabitants  of  the  Indian 
Stream  Territory.     See  Pittsburg. 

Upper  River  Settlement,  198 ;  205  ; 
206  ;  207  ;  terms  of  early  township 
grants,  208  ;  209  ;  218  ;  219  ;  on 
the  "New  Hampshire  Grants,"  219, 
220,  223,  252,  253,  255,  256 ;  system 
of  local  government,  257  ;  259  ;  260  ; 
380. 

Upper  Coos.     See  Coos  country. 


Valentine,  Indian  chief,  4. 

Vermont,  81  ;  84  ;  209  ;  220  ;  253  ; 
268  ;  the  state  set  up  at  Windsor, 
269-271 ;  Vermont  Assembly,  273, 
274,  276,  278,  279,  280,  282,  283, 
293-294,  295,  299,  320;  "Eastern 
Union "  and  "  Western  Union," 
294,  296,  297,  298;  322;  323;  347; 
348;  351;  353;  "Constitution  House" 
at  Windsor,  386. 

Vermont  Historical  Society,  270. 

Vernon,  81;  83;  144;  183;  198;  in  the 
Old  French  War,  211;.  322;  358;  391. 

Van  Curler,  Jacob,  21;  23;  69. 

Van  Twiller,  governor  of  New  Nether- 
land,  17;  18;  19;  20;  21;  22;  23. 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  29;  31;  47. 

Vries,  David  Pieterzen  de,  56 ;  56-58 ; 
60. 

Verrazzano,  Giovanni  de,  2  ;  8. 

Vaudreuil,  Marquis  de,  governor  of 
Canada, 164;  168; 170;  171; 178; 191; 
201;  205;  214;  Gen.  Rigaudde  Vau- 
dreuil, 214. 


W 

Wadsworth,  Daniel,  444;  Col.  Jere- 
miah Wadsworth,  444;  450;  Capt. 
Joseph  AVadsworth,  440;  443. 

Waite,  Benjamin,  154 ;  156 ;  knightly 
quest  of  with  Stephen  Jennings,  166- 
167  ;  191. 

Wait's  River,  355. 

Walker's,  Abel,  tavern,  299. 

Walpole,  208  ;  209;  210;  219;  225; 
2.38  ;  in  the  Last  French  War,  210, 
240,  241-346  ;  convention  at,  291  ; 
293  ;  295  ;  357  ;  388 ;  the  Walpole 
wits,  388-389. 

Wampanoags.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Wantastequat(orWest)  mountain,  204; 
209  ;  357  ;  358  ;  389. 

Wapegwoot,  Indian  chief,  84  ;  85. 


Index 


485 


War  of    1812,    407  ;   441  ;   452  ;   454  ; 

461-462. 
Ward,  Andrew,  46  ;  47. 
Ware  River,  363. 
Warehouse  Point,  304  ;  305  ;  306;  307; 

317  ;  334;  364;   430;  431. 
Warliam,  Rev.  Jolin,  431  ;  436  ;  Rev. 

William  Warham,  192. 
Warranokes.     See  Indian  tribes. 
Warner,    Charles   Dudley,  443  ;  446; 

Col.  Seth  Warner,  270 ;  271. 
Washington,  George,  297  ;  at  Windsor, 

431 ;  at  Hartford,  444  ;  at  Wethers- 
field,  450,  451. 
Washington     College.      See    Trinity 

College. 
Waterford,  377. 
Watertown,  Massachusetts,    colonists 

from,  24  ;  25  ;  35  ;  44  ;  45  ;  117. 
Watkinson,  David,  444. 
Weare,  Meshech,    president   of   New 

Hampshire,    264  ;    266  ;    267  ;  275  ; 

276  ;  277  ;  278  ;  282  ;    283. 
Webb  family  in  Wethersfield,  450. 
Webster,    Daniel,    300 ;     383 ;    John 

Webster,  51. 
Welles,  Gideon,   443  ;    birthplace  of, 

443  ;  Thomas  Welles,  48  ;  51  ;  443  ; 

445. 
Wells,    John,    191;     Capt.    Jonathan 

Wells,    175;     176;    177;    Jonathan 

Wells,  155;    Capt.  Thomas  Wells, 

scout,  204;  207. 
Wells  River,  308  ;  316  ;  319  ;  365. 
Wells  River  Junction,  308  ;  373  ;  378. 
Wells  River  Village,  308  ;  316  ;  317  ; 

318  ;  338. 

Wentworth,    Benning,     governor     of 
New  Hampshire,    209;    219;    220; 
controversy  over  the  "New  Hamp- 
shire   Grants,"    220-223;  254-256 
223  ;    224  ;    246  ;    252  ;    253  ;    264 
255  ;    256  ;    258  ;   260  ;    372  ;    387 
John  Wentworth,  governor  of  New 
Hampshire,  256  ;  372  ;   383. 

Wequogan,  Indian  chief,  132;  134;  135. 


Wesleyan  University,  463  ;  485-466  ; 
457. 

West  Hartford,  447. 

West  River,  171  ;  183  ;  184  ;  206  ; 
348  ;  358. 

West  Springfield,  363;  420;  425;  427; 
429. 

West  Stewartstown,  352  ;  368. 

Western  Union.     See  Vermont. 

Westfield  (Agawam)  River,  83  ;  202; 
363. 

Westminster,  208;  210;  219  ;  conven- 
tions at,  264,  266  ;  state  of  New 
Connecticut  set  up  at,  266  ;  286 ; 
288  ;  Vermont  Assembly  at,  299,  357, 
388. 

Westmoreland,  208  ;  212  ;   219  ;  388. 

Westwood,  William,  46;  48. 

Wethersfield,  25;  37;  38;  46;  named, 
48;  61;  78;  80;  82;  88;  95;  97;  in 
the  Pequot  Wars,  98  ;  101  ;  209 ; 
364;  366;  439;  Wethersfield  Cove, 
449  ;  the  modern  town,  449-451 ; 
travellers'  notes  on  its  old-time  cul- 
ture of  the  onion,  449-460;  450;  451. 

Wethersfield,  Vermont,  231;  232;  355; 
366;  386. 

Whalley,  Edward,  the  "regicide," 
401-402. 

Whately,  399;  named  for  Thomas 
Whately,  399. 

Wheelock,  Rev.  Eleazer,  founder  of 
Dartmouth  College,  256;  259;  260  ; 
261;  262;  266;  274;  300;  380;  382; 
383;  his  son,  John  Wheelock,  second 
president  of  Dartmouth  College,  261 ; 
265;  279. 

Whetstone  Brook,  368. 

White  Mountains,  206;  254;  347;  353; 
355;  375;  378. 

White  River,  186;  348;  355. 

White  River  Junction,  186;  315;  338; 
339;  356;  373;  381;  386. 

White  River  Falls,  251;  365. 

Whiting,  Charles  G.,  399. 

Whitmarsh,  Samuel,  418. 


48G 


Connecticut  River 


Whittier,  John  G.,  442;  443. 

Whitney,  Clarissa  (James)  408;  Prof. 
Henry  Mitchell  Whitney,  408; 
James  Lyman  Whitney,  408;  Josiah 
Dwight  Whitney,  407,  408,  409; 
Prof.  Josiah  Dwight  Whitney,  408; 
Maria  Whitney,  408;  Sarah  (Willis- 
ton)  Whitney,  407,  408;  Prof. 
William  Dwight  Whitney,  408. 

Whitney  family  in  Northampton,  407- 
408;  Whitney  homestead,  409. 

Wilder^s,  315;  355. 

Willard,  Joseph,  239;  Col.  Josiah 
Willard,  206;  207;  212;  228;  Miriam 
Willard,  228;  230;  232;  234;  2-36; 
237;  239;  Lieut.  Mases  Willar 
228;  230,  killed  by  Indians,  244; 
Kev.  Samuel  Willard,  in  the  Deer- 
field  manse,  397. 

Williams,  Rev.  John,  the  "Redeemed 
Captive,"  169;  171;  172-173;  175; 
178;  his  story  of  the  march  of  the 
Deerfield  captives  of  1704,  180-191 
later  life  in  Deei-field,  191-192;  193 
196;  grave  of,  197;  200;  227;  311 
356;  396;  410;  Eunice  (Mather) 
Williams,  wife  of  Rev.  John,  173; 
killing  of  on  the  march  of  the  Deer- 
field  captives,  182,  395;  grave  of. 
183;  192;  197;  410;  Eleazer  Wil- 
liams, son  of  Rev.  John  and  Eunice, 
192;  Samuel  AVilliams,  son  of  Rev. 
John  and  Eunice,  173,  in  captivity, 
187,  188;  190;  193;  Rev.  Stephen 
Williams,  son  of  Rev.  John  and 
Eunice,  173;  180,  journal  of  in 
captivity,  184,  185;  186;  188;  189: 
190;  191;  192,  minister  of  Long- 
meadow,  193,  army  chaplain  in 
three  expeditions,  193;  193-194; 
197;  Rev.  Warham  Williams,  son 
of  Rev.  John  and  Eunice,  173,  in 
captivity,  187,  188;  190;  192,  minis- 
ter of  Waltham  (Massachusetts),  193; 
Rev.  Samuel  Williams,  son  of  War- 
ham,  193;  Esther  Williams,  daughter 


of  Rev.  John  and  Eunice,  173,  in 
captivity,  187,  188;  191,  a  minister's 
wife,  193;  Eunice  Williams,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  John  and  Eunice,  173, 
in  captivity,  187,  188,  192,  an 
Indian  chieftain's  wife,  193,  visit  of 
with  an  Indian  retinue  to  her 
brother  Stephen  at  Longmeadow, 
193-194,  death  of  in  her  forest 
home,  194;  Eleazer  Williams,  great 
grandson  of  this  Eunice,  194,  educa- 
tion of  at  Longmeadow,  194,  claim 
of  to  be  the  "lost  dauphin"  of 
France,  194-196;  John  WilUams, 
another  great  grandson  of  Eunice, 
194 ;  Abigail  (Bissel)  Williams, 
second  wife  of  Rev.  John,  192;  196; 
197;  Abigail,  daughter  of  Rev.  John 
and  Abigail,  196;  Elijah  Williams, 
son  of  Rev.  John  and  Abigail,  196- 
197;  Elijah  Williams,  son  of  Ehjah, 
197;  John  Williams,  great  grandson 
of  Rev.  John,  311;  312;  Col.  Israel 
Williams,  224;  246;  247;  Bishop 
John  Williams,  4.56;  Rev.  Roger 
Williams.  96;  110;  1-39. 

Williams  family  in  Deerfield,  192-197. 

Williams  River,  185;  3-56. 

Winchester,  144;  198;  207;  228;  245. 

Windsor,  21;  first  called  Dorchester, 
25;  32;  33;  37;  46;  named,  48;  60; 
51;  80;  82;  83;  in  the  Pequot  Wars, 
98;  133;  in  King  Philip's  War,  149; 
192;  325;  364;  430;  the  modern 
town,  431-432;  433;  4.34;  436;  438; 
439. 

Windsor,  Vermont,  264;  266;  conven- 
tions at,  267-268,  269-271,  273,  320, 
324;  Vermont  state  established  at, 
269-271;  "Constitution  Hall,'  269, 
273;  274;  276;  283;  Vennont  A.ssem- 
bly  at,  293,  294,  299;  311;  337;  338; 
341;  356;  the  modern  town,  386- 
387. 

Windsor  Locks,  324;  364;  Pine- 
meadow  of  old  Windsor,  4.30. 


Index 


487 


Winooski  River,  186;  348. 

Winslow,  Edward,  exploration  of  tlie 
Connecticut  by,  16;  assumed  to  be 
its  discoverer,  16;  17;  26;  Josiah 
Winslow,  143. 

Winthrop,  John,  governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 14;  15;  16;  17;  18;  29;  34; 
36;  40;  41;  42;  43;  46;  52;  tribute 
to  Thomas  Hooker,  55;  60;  70;  88; 
John  Winthrop,  the  younger,  gover- 
nor of  Connecticut,  29-30;  31;  32; 
36;  43;  46;  69;  sketch  of,  70-72;  the 
"  Governor's  Gold  Ring,"  458-459. 

Winthrop  family,  70. 

Witherspoon,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  president 
of  Princeton  College,  286. 

Wolcott,  Henry,  the  emigrant,  431; 
432;  Henry  Wolcott,  eldest  son  of 
Henry,  50;  Simon  Wolcott,  young- 
est son  of  Henry,  432;  Martha  (Pit- 
kin) Wolcott,  wife  of  Simon,  see 
Pitkin,  Martha;  Roger  Wolcott,  son 
of  Simon  and  Martha,  163;  house 
of  in  South  Windsor,  432,  433; 
sketch  of,  432-434;  Sarah  (Drake) 


Wolcott,  wife  of  Roger,  433;  4-34; 
Oliver  Wolcott,  133. 

Wolcott  family  in  the  Windsors,  432- 
434. 

Wongunks.     See  Indian  tribes. 

Woodsville,  378. 

Woodward,  Bezaleel,  262;  263;  274; 
278;  287;  288;  289;  293;  294;  296. 

Wright,  Capt.  Benjamin,  scout,  203; 
Sergt.  Wright,  123. 

Wyllys,  George,  51;  Wyllys  home- 
stead, 443. 


Yacht,  the  first  American  built,  1;  5. 

Yale  College,  beginning  of,  at  Say- 
brook,  76;  77;  "commencement" 
of,  at  Wethersfield,  78;  79;  119; 
200;  407;  437;  446. 

"  Yorkers,"  285. 


Zachary  Sanford's  tavern,  443. 


B168     5 


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